Lux ex Tenebris - Discontinued Version
by Senomaros
Summary: He was a broken, crippled man and she was from a race of semi-mythical monsters. And yet, this peculiar duo is the last, best hope a crumbling Skyrim has for survival. The gods truly have a sense of humour, it seems.
1. Chapter I

**I****'ve had this idea in my head for a while now and it wouldn't leave me alone, so I thought I'd write it down. I get tired of all those stories where the hero is archetypically young and enthusiastic and full of potential and is a character who everyone likes and can identify with. Those stories, in my opinion, get boring fast. I always wondered what it would be like if the hero was the exact opposite, so I guess that's sort of what this story is. Also, since it's not obvious at this point in the story, I'll say that it begins before the main plot of Skyrim starts. Now a couple things before I begin:**

**Firstly: I don't really know for certain where this is going, it basically just takes shape as I go. I didn't know where to start either, so I figured I'd just jump right in.**

**Secondly: I listed this partly as a romance and I'm sure that the intended pairing will be obvious from almost the beginning, but since I have essentially no experience in creative/fictional writing, I might just make a horrible mess of it (if I haven't already).**

**Thirdly, the Disclaimer: I own nothing except for any original characters you happen to see. The rest belongs to the fine people at Bethesda.**

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><p>Pain and darkness were what seemed to dominate his life now, unbearably excruciating agony and perpetual, total darkness. How long had it been? He couldn't remember; he had long since lost track of time. He had initially kept track by counting when he slept and when he woke, but the agonizing, burning, screaming pain he was forced to experience easily ensured that he quickly lost count of his waking and sleeping cycles. Now, a significant portion of his thoughts focused on the torture he was subjected to by his captors. When would the next session come? What would they do to him this time? Would they lop off another appendage, maybe? Or perhaps they'll decide to burn him some more. And when would he get fed next? Meals were few and far between. But what drove him even further to the brink of insanity was that there was no pattern. There was no order, nothing to get used to; it was all random!<p>

A sound came from the darkness outside of his cell. It was a sound he knew well: the soft padding of bare feet on cold stone. Fear and panic took hold, and a shivering chill suddenly overcame him. That Sound meant one of only a few things: either his next torture session was about to begin, food was being delivered (which he doubted since he had already been fed several cycles ago), or-

"Avernus," came a soft whisper, so quiet that he could barely hear it. A slender arm slid through the bars of his cell, and he felt a hand touch his right shoulder and begin to gently stroke his skeletal upper arm. So it was Leto, then. She was the only one who ever touched him in a manner other than violence. She was the one friend he had in this godforsaken hole, his insider and ally. With his left hand, he grabbed one of the softly glowing, blue rocks in his cell and held it up to the bars of his cell.

The face that stared at him was thin and gaunt, with pale skin clinging tightly to the bones of her skull. Leto had high, pronounced cheekbones and a narrow jaw, and her brow-ridge wasn't as pronounced as those of the males of her race were. She had long, pointed elven ears and long, wispy black hair that fell past her shoulders and down her back. But her two most distinguishing features were her eyes and her nose. Her eyelids, pink and constantly inflamed, were swollen shut, rendering her effectively blind, and her nose consisted of a small indented ridge of flesh between her eyes, under which sat two long and narrow tear drop-shaped slits that served as nostrils, tapering off at a point where the noses of the other races of mer and men would end. It was these features that distinctly marked her as Falmer.

"I brought you your water," Leto whispered, as she passed a large water skin through the bars of his cell. She, of course, spoke the Falmer language, but Avernus understood her; he had studied their language before he ended up here. "Avernus, how are you feeling? How is your magicka? Is it coming back?"

"Thank you. Yes, it's starting to," Avernus whispered back. They never dared speak to each other in anything more than a whisper, for fear of Leto being caught and punished for talking with him. "It's definitely stronger than last time you visited me." A while ago, Leto had told Avernus that the reason why he had no magic was because the other Falmer put ground up chaurus eggs in his water, which had a dampening effect on magicka. She had since been able to intercept his poisoned water and switch it with clean water. Avernus's magicka had been steadily coming back since then.

"Good," she smiled, "we're almost ready to go. I just need to get the food without someone noticing it's missing. I'll get you tomorrow when I have the supplies and then we'll finally escape!"

"Excellent! I'll try not to die before then," Avernus replied, only actually half joking, "good luck, Leto," he said as he closed the hand that was stroking his arm in the remains of his own, and gave a gentle squeeze before letting go. Leto flashed him one last smile before she withdrew her arm, turned, and scurried off back into the darkness.

Some time ago (he couldn't remember exactly when, several months ago perhaps), Avernus had met Leto. Belonging to one of the lowest castes in Falmer society, she had been given what was considered the lowly task of caring for the prisoner, after the last Falmer who occupied this position had been killed – in a feud between two clans, he was told. Her duties including delivering his water and his rare meals, and patching him up to the best of her abilities after his torture sessions.

But she was different from the rest of his captors, Avernus immediately noticed. She treated him with kindness and didn't share the same hostility towards outsiders and anything "un-Falmer" as the rest of her race; in fact, she seemed genuinely horrified when she discovered the way he was treated. But, being of a very low caste, she was also subjected to abuse and brutal treatment by other higher members of Falmer society; not nearly as bad as the slaves, or "servants" as the Falmer insisted on calling them, that were kept, but she was definitely treated as sub-Falmer.

Whenever the two were alone, they talked to each other. But if Leto was found to be talking with Avernus by another captor, she was beaten, he learned, so they made sure that whenever they could talk to each other, they were always alone and _never_ spoke in anything louder than a very quiet whisper.

One of the first things Avernus asked was why he was kept as a prisoner and endlessly tortured. Leto had told him that, because he could speak their language, the higher-ups in Falmer society had decided to interrogate him for information on the surface world. And apparently, despite his claims to the contrary, they insisted that because he could speak and understand their language as well as being quite educated, he must be an important political leader worth keeping as a hostage for when they eventually make war with the surfacers. They claim he's denying this to fool them believing he's not worth much and could therefore be released. As for why they kept torturing him, Leto didn't know. Since he really had no better opinion, Avernus just assumed that, when combined with their deep and long-standing hatred for surfacers, they derived some sort of sadistic pleasure and entertainment from it.

Following that, their conversations usually consisted of taking turns asking the other questions about their society and where they came from, what their homes were like. Upon learning that the myths and stories that she had been taught about the surface-world were mostly twisted over-exaggerations and wild falsehoods, the two had resolved to escape together. The only future Leto had here was one of abuse and misery, and it was quite obvious that Avernus would eventually die. They had very little to lose.

So they had formulated a plan. Leto would switch Avernus's poisoned water for clean water, and while his magicka recovered, she would secretly gather the necessary supplies for a journey to the surface and then a trek to the nearest settlement, which Avernus had determined was the town of Helgen, based on his geographical knowledge of Skyrim and the knowledge of his current location. Being a scholar of the Imperial (formerly Arcane) University, he had considerable knowledge of magic and spell-craft. Leto would physically assist him with his weak, ruined and crippled body, and Avernus would use his magic, once sufficiently recovered, to deal with pursuers once they inevitably learn of his and Leto's disappearances.

And their plan was so close to being carried out; just one more sleep-cycle was all that stood between him and freedom!

Sitting up, Avernus fumbled around for the water-skin that Leto had dropped off. After a moment of blindly patting the stone surface around him, his four-fingered left hand closed around the skin. He uncorked it, brought it to his lips, and took a couple large gulps. Once his thirst had been satisfied, he closed the water-skin and set it down, while carefully adjusting himself, mindful of his utterly ruined right leg, so that he lay in a better position for sleep to come to him. Being as weak and exhausted as he was, it didn't take long for unconsciousness to claim him.

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><p>Avernus was jolted into wakefulness by a hand on his shoulder forcefully, but not roughly, shaking him. Initially he panicked, fearing it was time for the next torture session, but as his vision cleared, he could see, due to the faint glow of the blue rocks, that it was Leto. His cell door was open, and she was crouched over him and had a satchel on her back. Instead of the usual rags which the Falmer tended to favour, she was dressed in rough, fur-lined travelling clothes which the Falmer had no doubt confiscated from explorers who delved too deep into the Dwemer ruins above. He also noticed that she had a pair of Falmer swords tucked into her belt, and a bow and quiver of arrows tucked between her back and the satchel.<p>

"Avernus, wake up," she whispered, "it's time to go. I've collected the last of the supplies and everyone's still asleep right now." She offered Avernus her hand and he grasped it with his own, careful not to cut himself on her sharp Falmer nails. _Claws might be a better description actually,_ he thought. Straightening up somewhat, she helped lift him to his feet.

"Here, I brought you this since you can't walk properly anymore," she said as she handed him the top portion of an old, broken-in-half staff with her other hand. Avernus noted that she had wrapped the tip in several layers of rags. _Most likely to muffle the tapping sound as it strikes the ground,_ he thought. _Smart._

"Thanks," he whispered back after he stood up and accepted the staff, adjusting his posture so that he held the staff in his right hand and was leaning against Leto on his left, the support of his weight divided between her and his good, left leg.

"So how are we getting to the surface?" he asked.

"We can't go out through the ruins of the Dead Ones you and your party were in when you got captured; there're too many sentries there," Leto informed him, "but there's another ruin through the caves with a lift at the end of it. No surfacers ever come down the lift, so there's almost no one there. We can use that lift to escape."

"Alright, sounds good. Let's not waste any time them."

And with that, the odd due set off. The going was slow and awkward since, due to Avernus's crippled right leg as well as his general lack of physical strength from starvation and torture, he had to lean against Leto, relying on her as well as his improvised cane, for support.

But they were making progress. Every step they took was one step closer to the surface and to freedom. Slowly, they made their way out of the small Dwemer building that housed Avernus's cell and into the system of caves that lay beneath the larger Dwemer ruins. These caves, Avernus noted, were similar to Blackreach in the sense that they were located underneath and connected to several Dwemer ruins and complexes, and that they contained strange glowing rocks and fungi like the varieties from Blackreach which he had read about before. But these caverns weren't nearly as vast and expansive as the Blackreach system of caverns.

The pair continued on for what seemed, to Avernus, like ages. Just as Leto said, they had hardly come across any of her kinfolk, and the odd couple that Avernus did see were fast asleep in their strange tent-like dwellings. But the further they walked, the more intense the pain in Avernus's leg became. The seemingly endless torture that he had been subjected to had raised his threshold for pain tolerance somewhat, but there still only so much he could take. The pain in his leg felt like a relentless, hot, throbbing ache that was trying to claw its way up out of his leg and into the rest of his body. He needed to rest. Just for a bit.

"Leto," he whispered, "can we stop for a little while? My leg. I … I need rest. Please?"

Leto stopped, but she seemed reluctant. She opened her mouth to say something, but then reconsidered it and closed her mouth again. After a moment of thought, she responded.

"Alright, I guess it would give us a chance to eat as well. But we can't stay too long," she declared. Pleased, Avernus led his blind companion over to blue, glowing rock a couple metres from the main path so that they could sit down.

While Leto slipped the satchel off her back and began rummaging through its contents, Avernus thought he'd try and test his newly returned magical abilities, see how much they had come back and how much he could manipulate them. He'd try something simple, he though, but also useful. Silently, he tapped into his inner pool of magicka, merely examining it for a few moments. Then he proceeded to form the channel that would draw on his magicka so that he could manipulate it. _Good_, he thought, _everything's still in order so far._ Next, he drew a small amount of magicka through the channel, testing his control. _A little shaky, but that's to be expected, considering what I've been through._ Once satisfied with his tests, Avernus proceeded to weave the magicka into a spell, proceeding slowly so as to not strain and injure himself. It was a simple spell, but a useful one, and didn't take long to complete.

Leto noticed instantly, as was made evident when she let out a soft gasp and began moving her head around to different positions, her long ears twitching ever so slightly the entire time.

"Avernus, what happened?" she queried him, "I can't hear the cave anymore."

"Magic," he whispered back, "I created a field of silence around us. Sounds from outside will have greater difficulty in reaching us, but the sounds we make will also have greater difficulty reaching anyone outside the field."

Avernus was inwardly pleased. For Leto to notice meant that his spell had worked. He couldn't detect any change in the volume of incoming sounds – as in, he still heard nothing – but Leto's hearing was far more sensitive than his; without vision to rely on, her other senses had sharpened significantly.

"But then how will we know whether or not someone is coming? A sentry could stumble right onto us before us even knowing he was there!"

"Relax, Leto. Did you know that some of the rocks in these caverns glow? The one we're sitting on is particularly bright, bright enough so that I can see by it. If I see anyone coming our way, I'll let you know, alright?"

Leto nodded briefly in response. She went back to rummaging around in the satchel before pulling out a water skin and two cloth-wrapped bundles about the size of her fist. She set one down next to her and offered the other one to Avernus.

"Here. Food" she whispered. He thanked her and took the proffered bundle, unwrapping it and examining the contents. There were several chunks of some sort of salted meat – _probably chaurus_, he assumed – and a couple different varieties of fungus. One of them, he noted, glowed. Why was that? He was pretty sure he knew something about this fungus. _But what is it?_ After a few moments of wracking his mind for the knowledge he _knew_ he had, he suddenly remembered what it was and immediately discarded it. He glanced over to Leto and found that she was about to stuff a chunk of that glowing fungus into her mouth.

"Wait! Don't eat that," he hissed as he shot his arm out and grabbed Leto's wrist before she could consume the fungus.

"Why not?" she asked, "this food is a staple; it's always been part of our diet."

"And that is why your people are blind," Avernus answered her, "that fungus is the same one the Dwemer fed your ancestors to render them blind and make slaves out of them. It's toxic! Eating it surely can't be good for you."

Leto didn't immediately respond, but instead stared at him (well not stared since she had no vision, more like turned her head in his direction) for several seconds, looking skeptical.

"How do you know this," she finally asked Avernus.

"I studied the Dwemer before I was captured. They left records detailing their…treatment of your people," he answered her, "look, I'm not trying to sabotage you. You've been incredibly kind to me since the moment you met me and not only that, you're our only way out of this place; hurting you in any way would be the last thing on my mind. I'm just trying to help. Please, trust me, Leto."

"Alright," she acquiesced after a moment of consideration and put down the toxic fungus, "I'll trust you, Avernus."

For a while, the two ate their meals in relative silence, but after a short time, Avernus decided to take advantage of the isolated silence he had created and ask his companion a question that he had been curious about for some time now.

"Leto," he whispered.

"Yes?"

"Why is it that you have hair," Avernus began, "but that I haven't seen any males with hair?"

"Because we can't see like surfacers can, our men shave their heads to help distinguish themselves as much as possible from our women, who don't cut their hair."

"I see," was his reply, "interesting."

After only a few more minutes, the pair had finished their rations and had taken turns washing them down with a swig from the water-skin that Leto had pulled out.

"We need to move, Avernus," Leto informed him as she packed away the water-skin back into the satchel, which she then proceeded to don, "it's still a ways to the Dead Ones' ruins, and then a while to get to the surface."

"Alright. I'll get rid of the silence then." And with that, Avernus unweaved the spell of silence he had cast and tried to get back on his feet. He grabbed his improvised cane and scooted over to the edge of the rock. Very carefully, always mindful of his ruined leg, he brought his good leg down first and rested most of his weight on that. Then he brought the cane down and slowly brought his crippled leg and the rest of his weight down. A small twinge of pain shot up his leg and into the base of his spine as he brought his bad leg down, but compared to how it normally was, the pain was quite minor. Leto quickly moved over to help support him once more, and the two then set off.

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><p>They weren't moving as fast as Leto would have liked; they should have been at the Dead Ones' ruins by now, but instead they were only about two thirds of the way there. Avernus was slowing them down. But she didn't blame him. How could she? He was starved and therefore a lot weaker than she was, to say nothing of him being crippled. She knew what the others had done to cripple him. It was…horrible. Absolutely horrible. She shuddered just thinking about it.<p>

In a particularly cruel session one of his torturers decided that he was bored with the previous methods they'd been using and decided to tie Avernus up and toss him into a cage with chaurus inside, to see what would happen. The creature predictably almost immediately began to gnaw on his right leg and tear out chunks of his flesh. It was literally eating him alive. His torturer, apparently, found it hilarious and quite amusing if the laughter that accompanied the screaming was anything to go by.

When they pulled him out and she was called upon to fix his wounds, his leg was a shredded, torn, mangled mess. Knowing only the most rudimentary of healing spells, Leto had been unable to completely restore it to how it once was. The result was a damaged leg that healed only partially and incorrectly and was almost useless, as well as apparently still painful. And of course, she was beaten afterwards for not fixing up the prisoner properly.

It made her think, though. The only way she could imagine torturing another being and taking delight in it would be if she absolutely _hated_ and loathed the person. And the person would have had to have caused much suffering to others, so she might possibly view the suffering inflicted on him as a sort of justice.

Leto knew this was how a majority of her people thought though. They had legends about the surface people which no doubt influenced her people to think this way, and to hold such views about the surface people. In the legends and stories that children are told, the surface people are depicted as monsters. The surface people, the legends and stories say, aren't people at all but evil, malevolent, ugly monsters of pure hatred that butchered her people, the snow elves, killing the old and the weak, women and children, soldier and non-combatant alike. These monsters utterly destroyed her people's once mighty civilization and drove them underground, so the stories say. The monsters that lived on the surface, the stories say, exist solely to maim and kill and ruin and destroy and are incapable of anything else.

But she always had questions about these stories, about things in them that she could never understand. Like why, for instance, her people were defeated in the first place if their civilization was so grand and powerful, like the stories told. Or why, if the monsters were so malevolent, they didn't follow her people underground to kill the rest of them. Another question was where these so-called monsters came from. The usual answer she got to that was that they had always existed. This led to another question: if the monsters had always existed, and they existed solely to destroy, how had her people built a civilization and become great in the first place.

No one could ever answer her questions when she chose to voice them and then they would tell her that she's not supposed to ask those questions. But why not? No one could ever give any proper answers or reasons. It was all these unanswered questions and flaws in the stories she was told that made her doubt their accuracy. Surely the monsters on the surface couldn't _really_ be entirely evil. And the more she thought about it, the more ridiculous the idea seemed to her. Since when was anything _entirely_ evil, or even _entirely _good? Since when was anything _entirely_ one thing at all? Her people certainly weren't entirely good, like she had been told. Why, then, was she in one of the lowest castes of society and subject to frequent abuse at the hands of members of higher castes. Why was there even a caste system ion the first place?

But then, her people weren't entirely bad either. Her parents, when they were alive, had treated her with kindness and love. When they punished her, it was because she was misbehaving, or causing them trouble. They never punished her without good reason to do so and they certainly never beat her.

So then if such absolute statements about a people such as "always" and "entirely" and "never" and so on and so forth were untrue, how could these surfacers really be evil monsters? And so her doubts and uncertainties had been planted.

Skip forward years in time, and then Leto met Avernus, one of these "monsters" from the surface. Unsurprisingly, he wasn't like a monster at all. He actually spoke her people's language, which was a stark contradiction to the alleged claim that monsters from the surface lack a desire for anything else other than destruction. How, then, had Avernus learned her language, if the only thoughts he was supposedly capable of revolved around destruction and killing?

She then began to talk to him during the times when she would tend to him after his torture sessions. She'd ask him questions about where he came from, what his people were like, how they lived and so on. And as it turns out, the stories of the surface people as evil monsters are dead wrong.

She learned that they had families, just like her people had. They had no caste system, Leto learned. They built large cities and towns, they farmed the ground and grew their food, they traded with each other for goods and services, and they even had entire organizations dedicated to the acquisition, preservation, and reproduction of knowledge! It was one of these fascinating organizations that Avernus had come from, she learned; a university, he called it.

Upon learning all this, Leto decided that she'd assist him, to the best of her abilities, in escaping this place. Not only was his treatment inherently _wrong_ and appalling, considering that Avernus was a person, just like her, or her parents, or anyone else, but the surface world sounded so much more appealing than the world she knew and grew up in. There was no caste system that devalued certain members of society, no perpetual atmosphere of hate and fear of anything foreign, no system of oppressive lies that blinded and twisted people. She would help Avernus escape, Leto decided, and she would join him.

And so here she was, stumbling along through a cavern with a broken man clutching her for support. But they were making progress and after several periods of walking followed by several periods of brief rest in which Avernus caught his breath and waited for his pain to die down again, the pair eventually made it to the doors of the Dead Ones' ruins.

After stepping inside, the duo came across another gate. However, when Leto pushed against it, it refused to budge, resisting any and all attempts at opening it. Worried, she fumbled around the gate for something that might indicate why she was unable to open the gate. It didn't take long for her hand to close around something that shouldn't be there: a lock. She yanked on it experimentally, but it didn't give way.

"It's locked!" Leto exclaimed, "why is it locked? It shouldn't be locked; it wasn't before. Can you use your magic to get past this, Avernus?"

"Hmm," came his voice, "there are a couple things I can try."

Suddenly, a chill seeped into the small antechamber, and Leto could hear very faint groaning and creaking noises coming from the lock. The chill intensified as time passed but the groaning, creaking noises soon stopped. After a few moments the chill, too, vanished and Avernus spoke once more.

"Try pulling on the lock again," he instructed her.

Leto complied and reached for the lock once more. Upon contact, she immediately noted that it felt different, had a different texture to it. It was no longer smooth and hard, but seemed rough and coarse, and felt as if small chunks of it were flaking off. Doing as she was instructed, she yanked on it once more. This time, the lock snapped and gave way, allowing the pair continued passage through the ruins of the Dead Ones.

"What did you do?" she asked.

"I rusted the lock," he answered, "Dwemer metal is quite resistant to rusting so it took significant energy to do this."

_Fascinating_, Leto thought, as she led him deeper into the ruins of the Dead Ones. But they didn't get very far before she heard wheezing coming from Avernus. At first it was quite soft, but his breathing, she could hear, gradually started to become more laboured.

"What's wrong, Avernus?" Leto queried.

"I'm exhausted," was his out-of-breath answer, "so tired. I need to stop."

She understood. She wasn't particularly tired, but Avernus was so thin, so light as a result of being more or less starved during his captivity. It made sense that he was so tired. And they _had_ been going for a long time, the better part of a cycle at least. Perhaps they should stop for the rest of the cycle, eat and then sleep until tomorrow. She knew that it wouldn't do to keep pushing him; there was only so much his body could handle in its weakened state.

"Alright, we can stop and continue on tomorrow," she informed him, "there's a passage not far ahead that leads to beds. We can sleep there."

"Thank you, Leto," he answered.

She didn't bother to reply, instead only leading him forward. The passage she mentioned to him lay off the main track of this set of ruins, and was falling into disrepair. It also didn't lead anywhere other than to the beds. This meant that there was a good chance that if Avernus's captors managed to trace them to this particular set of the Dead Ones' ruins (their sudden absence was sure to have been noticed by now), it would be unlikely that they would check this passage, considering how large the ruins were.

So she led them away from the main passageway and into the derelict side passage. Around the rubble and past the broken machinery and protruding pipes whose locations she had memorized and they eventually came to their destination: a small, circular room with several beds.

Avernus disengaged himself from her supporting grasp and she could hear him limp towards one of the stone beds. Fabric rustled as he pulled himself up and then tucked himself under the blankets so that sleep would reach him more easily.

"Goodnight, Leto," she heard as she scurried over to her own bed, next to Avernus's.

"Sleep well, Avernus," she replied as she pulled the blankets over herself and allowed the gentle pull of sleep take her.

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><p><strong>And there's the first chapter. I was going to say something here, but I seem to have forgotten. So instead, I'll say I hope you enjoyed this chapter (although it might be more accurate to say that I just hope this wasn't a total piece of crap). Also, feel free to leave a review, as they are appreciated. And that's it. I'm tired so I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight and have a good day :P<strong>

**Oh yes, now I remember. I used this picture as the basis for my descriptions of Falmer characteristics and appearance:  
><strong>****http :/ images . uesp . net/1/17/SR-creature-Falmer . jpg** (minus the spaces, of course)**

****Here's another picture:  
>http : images . wikia . com/elderscrolls/images/8/84/Falmer_simple . jpg** **


	2. Chapter II

**And here's the second chapter, sorry about the wait. Also, thanks go to Croatin for Beta'ing part of it.**

**Disclaimer: Avernus and Leto belong to me, the rest belongs to Bethesda.**

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><p>It was the pain in his leg that woke Avernus. It wasn't a sharp pain, and it wasn't even particularly strong, but it was of the variety that slowly built up and accumulated over time, making it harder and harder to tolerate. Sitting up, Avernus grabbed the blanket and threw it off his legs. He then tried to manoeuvre his leg around into a better position. After several moments of repositioning himself, the pain gradually started to decrease. Once the pain in his leg had receded to a more comfortable level, he turned and swung his legs over the side of the bed.<p>

The room was illuminated by several Dwemer lamps mounted on the walls which gave off their eerie greenish-white light. Avernus immediately noted that Leto was nowhere to be seen. His automatic reaction was to panic, thinking that she had run off and left him, but then he realized that the satchel and her bow were still present. She'd probably be coming back then. Maybe she was just scouting ahead or something.

Avernus swiped his improvised cane from the ground and shakily pulled himself to his feet. He limped over to the satchel on the adjacent bed, and began rummaging through it to see what Leto had packed, as well as to perhaps get some food, provided there was enough. In it, there Avernus found an extra set of clothing – probably for him when they reach the surface, he thought – some rope, a couple knives, extra arrows, and some potions and solutions whose natures Avernus could only guess at. He also found enough food and water to last the two of them about a week and a half, he noted with great delight, even if he allowed himself a generous one ration per day! Satisfied, he pulled out one of the wrapped up bundles of food, discarded the toxic fungus, and began to eat the rest.

After he finished his meal, Avernus realized that the room had a mirror in it that wasn't entirely destroyed; there were a couple cracks in it and it was a little dusty, but it still produced a reflection. His curiosity got the better of him; he wondered what he looked like now, and he hadn't seen an actual mirror in such a long time. So he pulled himself up again, slowly made his way over to the mirror, and gazed into it.

A corpse stared back at him.

He had no hair or beard, for his captors had constantly shaved him, and so he was able to see his face without obstruction. (He wondered why they shaved him but going off what Leto told him yesterday, perhaps their social codes about men not having hair also applied to him; if he were blind and had always used the presence of hair as one method of distinguishing between the sexes, hair on another male, even a prisoner, would certainly throw him.) His cheeks were incredibly gaunt and his skin seemed thin enough so that he could easily distinguish his cheekbones, his jaw, and several other bones that formed the structure of his face. The flesh around his eyes had sunken so that his large, blood-red Dunmer eyes sat deep in their sockets, which were also clearly outlined. His pointed ears each had a notch in them, in the same position in both ears, where his captors had removed his earrings by ripping them out.

His body almost resembled that of a draugr, as his muscles were so wasted away that he appeared as a skeleton draped in a thin covering of skin. He was dressed in only a couple of rags attached to a rope-belt to provide him some semblance of modesty, and so was able to examine most of his body. On his torso, the thin layer of sandy-limestone-coloured flesh, an odd hybridization of his Cyrodiilic mother's olive skin tone and that of her Dunmer rapist (for he refused to think of the scumbag as a father), was sunken and formed little valleys between his ribs, which stuck out prominently. In fact, he was so thin that he could actually see his heartbeat, appearing as a small area of flesh between his ribs that twitched with each beat. His arms were thin enough that he could wrap his thumb and middle finger around his biceps, and the flesh around his waist was sunken enough so that some of the bones of his pelvis were visible. I could teach an anatomy class and use myself as a model, Avernus mused wryly.

Numerous scars and long, thin burns (almost like branding marks, he noted) covered his skin, appearing as silver or pinkish streaks that twisted and curved along his skin. Strangely enough, they appeared to be symmetrical, and formed intricate patterns, almost as if his captors had been using his body as a medium for some sort of demented art form. The elaborate and extensive patterns were … beautiful, oddly enough, in a horrific sort of way. He had never noticed this before, but then the pain from his torture would have shut down the part of his mind able to recognize the patterns being carved and burned into him.

And then there were his ruined hands and feet. On his right hand, his captors had cut off his last two fingers, as well as cutting out the metacarpal that attached to his little finger. On his left hand, they had lopped off his last finger but left the rest. He would never play his flute again, that much was certain. And on his feet, they had cut off half of his toes. On his right foot, his big toe as well as the fourth toe remained, while on his left foot his last two toes had been severed. How hideous his extremities were, now.

His body was ruined.

It was too depressing to keep peering at his reflection, so Avernus hobbled back over to one of the beds and sat back down. He lied down and was just about to pull the blanket over himself when he heard a noise off in the connecting hallway.

It was the familiar sound of bare feet padding on the hard stone floor of the Dwemer ruins. Relieved, he sat back up again right as the figure reached the end of the hallway, which ran perpendicular to the direction the door frame faced, and thus came into visible range. Avernus immediately froze. Oh shit.

It wasn't Leto. The Falmer pursuer, dressed in rags rather than armour and clutching some crude weapon consisting of a spike fashioned from chaurus chitin and mounted perpendicularly on a shaft, paused in the doorway. He titled his head around to different angles and his ears twitched ever so slightly, no doubt trying to pick up any sounds that might betray Avernus's presence.

Avernus made sure to remain completely still and kept as quiet as he possibly could, breathing through his mouth and letting the air simply diffuse in and out of his lungs in as quiet a manner as possible. Please don't let him hear anything.

Then, much to Avernus's horror and dread, he heard the unmistakable sound of air hissing sharply through nostrils as the Falmer began to sniff for traces of his scent. The Falmer would probably be able to find him, Avernus realized, since his sense of smell was far more acute as a consequence of his blindness. But how could he protect against that? He couldn't just make his scent disappear on command.

Avernus tapped into his magicka, drawing on just enough power needed for a small telekinetic field. It wouldn't do for the Falmer to die in a manner that might alert any nearby comrades, so he would have to be killed quietly. Using telekinetic forces to crush his throat would be quiet enough, Avernus figured.

But before he could proceed any further with his plan, another figure slammed into the Falmer and tackled it to the ground with such speed and force that all Avernus could make out was a tangle of limbs and flowing black hair. No screams were let loose since the tackled Falmer already had its throat slit, Avernus realized, when the tangled pair came to rest. His protector was, of course, none other than Leto. Avernus then extinguished his spell and let the magic sink back into his inner reserve.

Holy shit. "Um, thanks," Avernus muttered lamely, shocked by what he saw. The Falmer's body lay in a crumpled heap in the corner of the hallway. Its head was bent at an unnatural angle and dark blood began to pool around it as it flowed in a constant stream from its slashed throat. The wound was deep enough that Avernus could just make out some of the bone from the creature's vertebrae poking through all the severed blood vessels and ligaments. He briefly wondered how the Falmer hadn't noticed her. Maybe he did notice, but assumed it was an ally coming to help him out, and not the traitor that's helping the prisoner escape. That would make sense, he thought, since one wouldn't be able to verify the identity of another from only the sound of their footsteps.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yea … yea I'm fine," Avernus replied. "But where did you go?"

"You were still asleep when I woke up," Leto began as she made her way over to her supplies, "so I went ahead to scout out our path, check out it's condition and see if anything's changed. But I heard other people searching for us, so I came back. I might need your magic to help deal with them though."

"How many did you hear?" Avernus queried.

"Not many," Leto answered, "it sounds like just a small scouting party, so only a handful. But more will eventually come."

"And how far are we from the surface?"

"At the rate we've been going? About another waking-cycle, perhaps."

"Alright, let's get going then."

As soon as Leto finished gathering up her supplies, she went over to Avernus and offered him her arm. He grabbed it, picked himself off the bed, and the two set out once more.

Like before, the going was slow due to Avernus's ruined leg and the subsequent need to rely on Leto for physical support. The arrangement also wasn't particularly silent either and several times the pair drew the attention of one of the scouts that Leto had reported. But, as with the first one that stumbled upon Avernus, they were usually quickly disposed of by Leto. The odd pursuer that she couldn't deal with, Avernus took care of with his magic. The pair would only ever encounter a hostile Falmer on its own, or occasionally in pairs, which seemed to confirm Leto's description of them as scouts. But that meant that larger parties were sure to follow. The pair would have to find ways to slow their pursuers down, or else they might eventually get overwhelmed.

Avernus noticed that about half the time, he and Leto were proceeding through individual Dwemer buildings and complexes, while the other half of the time, they seemed to be making their way through large, open caverns on old cobbled streets that passed between buildings. The buildings they passed through seemed to join these individual caverns with each other.

The duo were in one of the open caverns, near the end, and were making their way to a large, particularly grand looking building that had several storeys and was built into the cave wall. It was no doubt one of the large connecting structures that linked the caverns. Avernus noticed that the second storey had a sort of balcony area with a door that led to it, which was situated directly above the ground-level entrance. None of the other levels, however, had any balcony areas or openings. They made their way to the face of the building, but then Leto stopped them all of a sudden.

"Why are we stopped?" Avernus asked, "Aren't we going through?"

"The way through has collapsed," Leto informed him, "we have to go through the upper level."

"But how do we get there? I don't see any stairs or ramps that lead up to it."

"I have a way," she grinned, "but I need you to wait here for a minute."

"Alright," Avernus replied. He wondered what Leto would do though, how she could get up there if there weren't any stairs or ramps. However, his question was immediately answered as he watched her start to actually climb up the surface of the wall!

Avernus saw her walk up to the face of the wall and begin feeling around it, on an area above her head. She then shoved her claws in the gaps between bricks made by the crumbling mortar. Then she brought a foot up and wedged the claws of her foot into another space. She then pulled herself up off the ground with her claws and began to slowly but steadily climb up the vertical surface of the wall, dragging herself up the wall in exactly the same manner.

Avernus was impressed. He had always wondered why Falmer had such sharp, strong looking claws. He never would have imagined that they'd be useful in climbing. Falmer claws must be quite tough in order for them to support their weight on them, he realized. The whole sight was rather fascinating.

Before long, however, Leto reached the top of the stone railing and disappeared from view. He heard a few muffled movements and before long, a rope was thrown over the balcony and fell down to Avernus. He then watched as Leto reappeared and began climbing down the rope. She wasn't wearing the satchel, or any of her weapons, Avernus noticed.

"I don't suppose you're strong enough to climb up on your own," Leto implored once she reached the bottom.

"Probably not," came his reply. Avernus was pretty sure he knew how this was going to work, now.

"Alright, then you need to climb on my back and I can get us up there," Leto informed him. She then turned her back to him and squatted down, leaning forward slightly. Avernus did as he was instructed and climbed onto her back, wrapping his feeble arms around her neck. Once secure, Leto straightened somewhat, grasped the rope and began to climb once more up the face of the wall, pulling both herself and Avernus up. She used the claws of her feet as support, jamming them in the gaps between the stones like on her initial climb up.

Avernus simply dangled from Leto, holding on for dear life. His arms were frail and lacked strength, but then the rest of his body was quite light as a result of being starved as well, so it wasn't an impossible task to hang on. He felt mildly ashamed, though. He was completely helpless, a useless dead-weight, and was relying entirely on Leto to get him up, while contributing nothing.

It didn't take long for Leto to reach the top, not even a minute of steady climbing. She pulled both herself and Avernus over the top of the stone railing and let him climb off her. She then proceeded to untie the rope from the railing, coil it back up and stuff it back into her satchel. She reequipped her weapons and donned the bag before once more offering Avernus her arm as support. The pair then proceeded onwards through the open doors and into the building.

The first part of the interior simply consisted of a very long corridor, lit by the same lamps mounted on the walls in little alcoves. Between the alcoves, long stretches of wall were covered in panels of metal bars that almost resembled gates without any hinges. The panels were far longer than the corridor was wide. He had seen this kind of metal paneling before, often covering various pieces of machinery built into the walls, or occasionally acting as walkways or bridges instead of stone. It got Avernus thinking.

"Leto," he stopped and asked, "is this the only way to the lift?"

"No, there are other ways" she answered, "but this is the most direct; the other paths lead into different caverns that are out of the way so they take much longer. Why do you ask?"

"I can do something to slow down our pursuers then," Avernus said, with a grin, "these walls have a sort of metal paneling on them. See?" he said as he reached over and tapped one of the panels with his knuckles, producing a faint metallic ringing noise.

"I can use magic to bend them and pull them out of place to seal off the corridor behind us," he finished explaining.

"That would be quite helpful actually," Leto said after a moment of thought.

"Alright, one moment then," Avernus said as he began to prepare himself. While there was no doubt it would be effective in slowing their pursuers down, reshaping the wall panels would also require considerable energy. His magic was certainly returning since he no longer had to drink the poisoned water, but he wasn't sure if he was strong enough to be able to accomplish such a feat yet. But he had to escape this place and if this would help slow down his pursuers and therefore give him a higher chance to reach the surface, then he'd damn well try!

Avernus turned around so that he was facing in the direction he came from, selected a metal panel and began to form the telekinetic fields necessary to move it. Carefully, he applied a little force and was rewarded with a creaking sound coming from the panel. He gradually applied more and more force until the bolts holding the panel in place at the end nearest Avernus snapped. The other end was still firmly fastened in place, which was what Avernus needed. Now all that was needed was to bend the panel and pull it across the corridor to block it off. Dwarven metal was strong, but it wasn't brittle, so it could be bent if enough force was applied.

The problem, however, was that snapping the bolts had already consumed a significant portion of Avernus's magicka, so he wasn't sure if he'd be able to bend the panel enough to completely block the corridor. Nevertheless, he had to try.

Avernus then reshaped the telekinetic fields and applied more force, pulling outwards on the section of panel that had been separated from the wall. The metal creaked and groaned as it slowly bent outwards, inch by precious inch. But it was taking too much force to move and Avernus was quickly running out of magicka. He strained harder, putting in more effort to bend the panel as much as he was able to. But he knew that if he pushed himself too hard, he would injure himself.

If stamina and endurance can be thought of as properties that arise from one's muscles and physical strength, then magicka could be thought of as a property of one's magical strength and overall talent with the use of magic. Like endurance and stamina, it can't be thought of as a finite quantity of something that one expends when working with magic. Rather, it represents one's abilities and how much exertion one is capable of, and, just like with one's muscles and physical strength, one's magical strength can atrophy with time and disuse. Since Avernus had been cut off from his magical talents by his captors, his magicka had atrophied and weakened as a result and so bending the metal panel, a task he would normally have been capable of, was proving to be more difficult than it should be.

Avernus was forced to stop, lest he injure himself. The bent panel was sticking out from the wall at an angle and almost blocked off the passage, but unfortunately there was still enough space between its edge and the adjacent wall for a person to squeeze through.

"All done?" Leto asked.

"Not quite. There's still a space left, but I don't have enough strength to be able to close it fully," Avernus answered her. What could he do? He had to think of something. Every problem has more than one solution, he told himself. Then, just like that, the answer came to him.

"Leto, I need you to help me," he said.

"But how?" she asked him, "I don't know the magic you used to bend the metal. What can I do?"

"You don't know the magic, but I do and that's enough," Avernus began, "what I need from you is access to your magicka. Think of magicka as potential. If we combine our potential magicka, then I can finish blocking off the passage."

"It's possible to do that?" said Leto, "but how? I don't know how to do that."

"I know how to form the channel between us that will allow us to share our magicka," Avernus informed her, "what I need from you is to not fight it and to allow me access. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes," Leto replied, "I'll help you."

Avernus then wordlessly got started on forming the necessary connection between Leto and himself. As soon as he finished, he could instantly feel her magicka through the connection. It was calm and quiet, a dormant, untapped pool of potential. Avernus himself wasn't necessarily stronger or better, now that he created a link with Leto; he simply had greater available magicka to draw upon now.

And with this greater potential, he then resumed applying the telekinetic force to the panel. He found that he was able to bend it further than before and it creaked some more until it met the metal paneling of the adjacent wall with a clank. Avernus then dismantled the telekinetic fields that directed the forces and severed the connection between himself and Leto.

"All done," he informed her.

"Great," she answered, sounding pleased, "there is a place at the end of this corridor where we can sit down and rest for a bit, if you need to."

"That would be appreciated," Avernus said, "thanks Leto."

Avernus took Leto's arm once more as she led him down the corridor. At the end, the narrow corridor widened into a circular room, and off to the sides were a couple tables and chairs. The pair made their way over to one of the tables, unloaded their supplies and sat down beside each other. Leto reached inside the bag, pulled out two rations, and handed one to Avernus.

"Two meals in one day?" he asked as he raised an eyebrow in mild surprise, "You're spoiling me, Leto," he joked as he accepted the proffered bundle. She chuckled a bit and smiled at him as she unwrapped her own food. Most, if not all, of her teeth were jagged and sharp, Avernus noticed. She had the dentition of a predator. But her teeth were fairly typical amongst Falmer and after spending ages as their prisoner, he was no longer bothered by it.

"You need to build up your strength," she told him, "and we're almost at the lift anyways. We'll be there by the end of the waking-cycle "

"That's good then," was all he said as he unwrapped his own bundle of food. He sorted through the pre-packed contents until he found the toxic fungus, which he then discarded. He noticed Leto had discarded hers also. He was glad she was following his advice regarding the toxic food.

But then he realized something: when she had smiled at him, her eyelids seemed different from how they looked when she visited him back in his cell, he remembered.

"Leto," he said.

"Hmm?" responded Leto.

"May I examine your face for a moment?" Avernus inquired.

"Why?" she asked.

"I noticed you stopped eating that fungus I advised you about," he informed her, "and now your eyelids seem different. May I examine them?"

"Sure," she acquiesced.

Avernus placed his hands on the sides of her head and gently positioned it so that her face was fully illuminated by the Dwemer lamps. What he saw was fascinating. Her inflammation seemed to be significantly reduced. Her eyelids were still inflamed, of course, but much less so than before. And the pinkish colouring wasn't as intense as before either; instead here eyelids were much closer in colour to the rest of her skin now. Could it be that the effects of that toxic fungus were only temporary? That the Falmer remained blind only because the fungus remained a staple in their diets? It was very interesting.

Avernus wanted to test something though. Even with his eyes closed, he would still be able to detect the presence or absence of light. He remembered that if he looked at the sun or a bright flame with his eyes closed, he would see a sort of fiery darkness, but then if he closed his eyes and covered them with his hands as well, he would see pitch-black, total darkness. He wondered if something similar could happen with Leto.

"Leto, I'm going to do something and I want you to tell me if you notice anything different, okay?" he asked, to which she simply nodded in reply.

Avernus then conjured a white light. It was small but quite bright, much brighter than the wall-mounted Dwemer lanterns. He moved the light until it hovered right in front of Leto's face. He was rewarded with a small gasp from her.

"Something's there," she exclaimed, "I…I don't know how to describe it, but something's happening."

"Cover your face with your hands," Avernus instructed. Leto did as she was told.

"Now it's gone!" She removed her hands, and then covered her face several seconds later, before removing them once again. "Avernus, what did you do? The thing goes away when I cover my face, but comes back when I lower my hands. What is this?"

"That was light, Leto," he explained, grinning nearly from ear to ear as he did so; he was quite pleased, "I conjured an orb of bright light and held it in front of your face. You couldn't see it because your eyelids are still swollen shut, but for you to be able to detect it means several things. Firstly, your eyes do work and so can't be the proximal cause of your blindness; and secondly, your eyelids are recovering."

"They were damaged?" Leto asked.

"Yes, they were inflamed and swollen shut," Avernus explained, "they still are, but less so than a couple days ago. Think, do they feel any differently?"

"Yes," she replied after a moment of thought, "they feel…cooler, and more sensitive. This isn't a bad thing?"

"No, this is good," Avernus said, "they feel more sensitive likely because you would have gotten used to the feeling of them being constantly inflamed."

"Oh," she said, "so does this mean I'll be able to see?"

"It's impossible to say for sure, but it seems like it so far," Avernus assured her, "hey, I noticed earlier that you packed some potions. I assume some of them are healing potions, aren't they?"

"That's right," she answered.

"Good," Avernus said, "drink one tonight before you go to sleep and tomorrow we'll see what happens. Maybe it'll speed along the recovery of your eyelids and you'll be able to see."

"But we need to save the healing potions in case one of us gets injured," she protested.

"Leto, if a healing potion can help bring you vision sooner, then it's worth the loss," Avernus countered.

"I guess. Thanks for this, Avernus," she said, with a particularly radiant smile.

"Not a problem, Leto," he replied.

This is quite exciting, he thought as he resumed eating his meal. He genuinely hoped Leto was able to get her vision back. He could only imagine what it would be like to suddenly have access to a whole new sense that was previously unavailable! And besides, sight would be an invaluable ability once they reached the surface. Underground, Leto was able to navigate around because she had lived here her entire life and no doubt had the layout of the caves and ruins committed to memory. But the surface would be an entirely alien environment to her and she would be unable to navigate with just hearing and smell. Sure, he could still see, but how hopeless they would be, then, with a pathetic, starved cripple as Leto's only means of navigation!

Yes, Avernus was excited, but not nearly as excited as Leto was apparently. She was positively giddy as she finished eating her meal! When she was done, she got up, made her way over to one of the Dwemer lamps on the wall, and sat directly underneath it. He watched her gaze at the source of light, cover face, uncover it, and then giggle with excitement. The whole spectacle was rather amusing, Avernus thought; it reminded him of playing peekaboo years and years ago with his infant sisters. It was amusing, but also heart-warming at the same time, he thought.

Once Avernus was done eating and Leto was finished amusing herself with the lamp, the two then resumed their trek to the lift at the end of the Dwemer ruins. It was a fairly long march and Avernus was exhausted by the time they reached the lift but he didn't mind. Perhaps it was the fact that he was almost guaranteed his freedom now, or perhaps it was due to the fact that Leto's fantastic mood was contagious, or maybe it was a combination of both, but Avernus just couldn't be bothered to feel negative about anything.

The two of them settled down in a small antechamber right by the lift. Leto drank a healing potion as per Avernus's suggestion, while Avernus magically enclosed the room in a field of silence before exhaustion finally caught up with the pair and gently drew them into the oblivion of sleep.

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><p><strong>I'm eager to know what you think of this chapter so as always, reviews are greatly appreciated!<strong>


	3. Chapter III

**Alrighty, here's Chapter III. That's right, I'm using Roman Numerals. Why? Because I like them, and no one seems to be using them, which I think is a shame. Anyways, onto the chapter! Lately, I've been wondering if I've been progressing a bit too slowly with this story. Originally, I figured I wanted to take my time putting in detail, and not just rushing through, like in those stories you sometimes see where multiple major plot developments happen in a chapter that's not even two thousand words. But now that I think about it, perhaps I'm moving too slowly. I dunno, you can decide that; let me know in a review or PM.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Skyrim, that would be Bethesda. OCs and unique characters, however, are mine.**

**Enjoy! **

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><p>The first thing Avernus became aware of when he awoke was the dull aching in his muscles. He was sore all over. His feeble muscles weren't used to being worked this much and the long treks of the last couple cycles had taken their toll on his weakened body. But the sleep had done him some good and the utter exhaustion he felt at the end of yesterday's waking-cycle was significantly lessened.<p>

Avernus slowly sat up off the cold stone floor, always mindful of his leg, and pulled off the old, worn cloak he got from Leto's satchel that he had been using as a blanket. He then grabbed his makeshift cane and slowly, with no small effort, pulled himself up to his feet. He straightened his crooked back, throwing his shoulders back as best he could and sticking his sunken-in chest out somewhat, and was rewarded with a pleasant series of audible clicks and crunches. Sighing with satisfaction, Avernus then hobbled over to the nearby set of table and chairs where they left the satchel and sat down.

He noticed that Leto was missing once more, but he wasn't bothered; she'd be back soon. Avernus then reached for the bag and pulled out some food. He unwrapped the bundle, laid out the assortment of meats and fungi, discarded the toxic fungus, and began to eat his meal. Ages of only ever eating the same food ensured that Avernus became accustomed to its taste. Now it just seemed normal and unremarkable, lacking any real flavour. It didn't take him long to finish his meal and soon he was washing down the last of it with a swig from one of the water-skins Leto had packed.

As he replaced the water-skin, Avernus's thoughts drifted to Leto. He wondered what the condition of her eyes was like, and whether or not they were healing. In just a couple days without the toxic fungus, Leto's swelling had been reduced significantly. It would definitely be interesting to see their current condition, especially now that Leto had drank the healing potion before she went to sleep yesterday. He wondered if that would have any effects. Had it sped up Leto's recovery? Or had it done nothing?

Then, as if in response to Avernus's questions, the subject of his thoughts re-entered the room from wherever she had gone. And just like that, he had his answer. Leto's eyes were open! The healing potion had done its job and Leto's sight seemed to have been restored!

Her eyes were beautiful. Her irises, a most magnificent shade of purple he had never seen before, shined brightly and seemed to faintly glow, almost as if they were illuminated by some light source from within her eyes. Like the other elven races, Leto's eyes were proportionately larger than the average human's and the irises took up the majority of the visible eye, leaving little room for the sclera to show.

Upon catching sight of him, Leto smiled. It was the same carnivorous smile she gave him the previous night, full of sharp, pointy teeth. The beauty spread to the rest of her face.

She ran over to Avernus, joy and excitement clearly written on her face, and Avernus couldn't help but to smile with her. She grabbed his shoulders once she reached him and locked eyes with him.

"Avernus, I … this is so _amazing! _I can actually _see!_" she exclaimed. Then, without any warning whatsoever, she enveloped him in her arms and crushed him against her in a monumental hug.

"Thank you _so_ much, Avernus," she said, "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

"I hardly did anything," Avernus replied, "All I did was give you some advice."

"And without it I would still be blind, so thank you," Leto said as she squeezed him tightly for an instant before releasing him from her embrace.

Taking a step back, she asked with some uncertainty, "Can I … can I look at you?"

"Of course," Avernus replied.

Leto's eyes hovered over his face for a moment before darted back and forth as she examined his ruined body. After several moments, she reached out her hand, extended one finger, and touched one of his protruding ribs. She then traced her finger along his rib and Avernus saw the corners of her mouth twitch upwards in a small grin. Then she turned her attention towards his intricate scars and burns, tracing her finger along various lines that twisted along his flesh. It tickled somewhat due to the increased sensitivity of the scar tissue.

"Are these the wounds the torturers inflicted upon you?" Leto asked.

"Yes."

"I never noticed these patterns before," she remarked as she withdrew her hand but continued to gaze upon him for a moment longer.

"But we should keep going," Leto continued as she turned to grab her bag and pulled out several articles of clothing.

"The lift is just outside this room," she went on, "and you'll need these clothes once we reach the surface. I remember it's colder out there than it is underground."

"Thank you, Leto," Avernus replied as he examined the clothes Leto had produced from the bag. There was an old pair of black boots, some raggedy pants, a thin tunic, some smallclothes, an old fur-lined coat, and thankfully a belt, in addition to the old cloak he had used as a blanket.

Avernus reached for the smallclothes first, but noticed that Leto was still watching him. It was actually somewhat amusing, he thought. She reminded him of a small child who hadn't been taught that it's rude to stare. But since she had been blind almost all of her life up until this morning, how was she to know that? And after spending ages as a half-naked prisoner of a blind race, dressed in only a couple of rags, he was no longer bothered by the idea of undressing in the presence of another Falmer; It just didn't feel wrong anymore. The fact that Leto could see made very little difference. And besides, who was he to tell her to look away? She had been denied her vision for the vast majority of her life up until now. If she wanted to look, then she damn well could.

Avernus grabbed the small clothes and, still sitting, managed to get his legs through the opening. Then he slowly and shakily stood up and undid the rope-belt that held up his rags. His pathetically frail body was now completely naked. Leto was still staring, he noticed, but he didn't care. He then bent down carefully, grabbed the smallclothes that now lay around his ankles, and pulled them up all the way.

The pants would be next. Avernus sat back down again, grabbed the pants, and once again began manoeuvring his legs into place. He was forced to sit while he did this since if, while standing, he put his weight on his ruined right leg to move his left leg, he would no doubt collapse. Eventually, he managed to get the pants on and proceeded to reach for the next article of clothing.

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><p>Leto continued to watch Avernus as he began to clothe himself. She knew that he was very thin as a result of starvation, when she treated his injuries. But to actually be able to <em>see<em> him was another matter entirely. On the one hand, Leto was delighted. She could see Avernus, and examine him in far greater detail than she could before, and what she saw seemed to accurately match what her other senses told her. But on the other hand, to see him in such a wretched condition filled her with sadness. She could now see the numerous scars and burns adorning his flesh that were previously hidden from her, and she could very easily make out the outlines of many of his bones. She could hardly even begin to imagine all the suffering he had endured.

Once Avernus was fully clothed, Leto went over to the satchel, gathered the supplied up and stuffed them back, and turned to Avernus.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied simply. Leto offered him her arm once more and he shakily pulled himself up. The pair then began to make their way towards the lift of the Dead Ones, with Avernus once more relying on Leto for support.

They staggered out into the main corridor where the lift could be seen behind bars at the end. Once they reached the bars, Leto noticed that there were two levers on either side of the bars. She assumed that they controlled the odd sort of portcullis in front of them and experimentally reached for the one on her side of the bars and pulled down. The bars then individually slid downwards into their respective holes in the floor, allowing the pair passage. They continued through and Leto pulled the other lever, bringing the bars back up.

"Hold on a moment," Avernus requested and Leto halted their pace. She was about to ask him what he wanted but her question was answered when she felt an ever-so-slight tingling sensation in the air around her, a tell-tale sign of magic being manipulated. Avernus raised one ruined hand and with a small gesture, snapped the handle off the lever on the far side of the portcullis with his telekinetic magic.

"Now our pursuers will have an even harder time following us," Avernus remarked with a smile. The duo then continued onwards onto the great circular platform of the lift. They disentangled and Avernus sat down while Leto walked up to the lever in the centre of the platform and pulled it. The various gears on the edge of the platform that connected it to the walls of the shaft began to turn and rotate in their grooves and the lift slowly began its ascent as the long-dormant machinery came to life. Leto sat down next to Avernus and together they waited for the lift to reach the top.

"So, I've been wondering," said Avernus, "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"My father taught me," Leto answered him, "He was part of the warrior-caste and taught me how to defend myself when necessary."

"But I thought you said you were from one of the lower castes," Avernus queried.

"Well, sort of," explained Leto, "it's a bit complicated. My mother was from a very low caste. Usually, it's very rare for people to marry someone from a different caste; it's quite frowned upon. But my father loved my mother very much, so he chose to defy tradition and married her anyways. But despite my father's fairly high standing in our society, I was still viewed as lowly because of my mother's caste. My father knew that it's not uncommon for the lower castes to be abused and mistreated, so he taught me how to fight, with or without weapons, so that I could protect myself. It was little use though; I was beaten anyways," she said as she looked down, no longer able to meet Avernus's gaze, "there was always more than one. Some would hold me down while the rest beat me."

"I see," said Avernus, "but your father still sounds like a good man. A noble man. Will you ever get to see your parents again, now that you've helped me escape?"

Leto could feel tears welling up behind her eyes as she answered, "No. They're dead." Talking about her parents almost always upset Leto. They had been gone for a long time now, but she had loved them dearly and their loss still hurt. Despite her best efforts, a few tears managed to escape and roll down her cheeks. She then felt a bony, three-fingered hand close around her own and squeeze.

"I'm so sorry, Leto," Avernus said as she looked up into his deep, red eyes. There was a single tear on his left cheek. She squeezed his hand for a moment, returning the gesture, before letting go.

"No, I'm sorry," she said as she wiped away her tears, "I shouldn't be getting so emotional at the mere mention of my parents."

"Why not?" came Avernus's strange reply, "Emotions are a fundamental part of life. Why should we deny them? You clearly loved your parents dearly and their loss upsets you. If it helps at all to talk about it, I'd be willing to listen."

"Thank you, Avernus, it's very kind of you to offer," Leto said as she smiled at him, "Perhaps another time I'll take you up on it. But now it's my turn!"

"Oh?"

"Yes, I've been wondering too," began Leto, "What was your family like? How did you grow up? And what race are you? From what you've told me before, you look like a type of elf, but I can't tell which. I know the names of the colours, but I don't know which name goes with which colour. Otherwise I might be able to tell."

Avernus chuckled a bit before answering, "Well, you're half right. See my eyes? They're the colour red. Only the Dunmer, or dark elves, have red eyes, so you know I'm part Dunmer. I say you're half right because my mother was a Cyrodiilic human, so I'm a hybrid."

"So your father was a Dunmer then?" asked Leto, "What was he like?"

"Well … it depends on how you look at it," Avernus began, "When my mother was very young, she was raped by a Dunmer man. Unfortunately, it resulted in pregnancy and soon after she reached fourteen years of age, I was born. So in terms of blood-relations, then yes my father is a Dunmer. But this man was a rapist and a criminal; he was a living sack of shit who caused my mother great pain and misery. I refuse to think of the scumbag as a father. Instead, the closest thing I have to a father would be the man my mother married years later. He was a good man and loved me like I was his own."

"So your mother and her husband raised you?" Leto asked.

"Partially, along with my grandparents," Avernus answered, "but my mother didn't marry until I was seven years old so for the first part of my life, it was mostly my mother and my grandparents that took care of me. Even after she married, that didn't really change. My mother married a Nordic man from the Whiterun City Guard and since he was just living in the barracks at the time, he moved in with us."

"Is it normal for the older generations to live with the younger ones?" Leto asked.

"It depends on a lot of things. Wealth, family size, and how close the family is, to name but a few factors," Avernus began, "since my grandparents played such a large role in raising me, and since I was just a child when my mother married, it made more sense for her to continue living with her parents into adulthood. By the time I left to study at various universities and colleges, my parents already had other children and, like with me, my grandparents helped raise them and were very close to them. Also, by this time, my grandparents were getting older and since my grandmother had taught my mother much of what she knew of healing and alchemy, it made it easier for my grandparents to retire, with my mother taking over the family business and keeping up a steady income."

"Your family sounds fascinating," Leto remarked. Avernus grew up under such different circumstances than Leto. She could only imagine what it would be like to have such a close family. Unlike Avernus, she never had any siblings and she never knew her grandparents, who died when she was very little. She only had her parents for family. And now they too were gone; she was alone. She envied Avernus in regards to his large family.

Before she could continue with her musings however, the lift reached the top of the shaft and came to a halt. They seemed to still be inside a building or construct of some sort as the lift shaft opened up into a short corridor followed by a small room. Leto already knew this and had the layout memorized, but now she could actually _see_ what she knew was there and it excited her!

"We're still inside, it seems," Avernus remarked in a flat tone, "how much further is it until we reach the surface, do you know?"

"Just outside that door," Leto answered him while pointing down the corridor to a door at the end of the room beyond.

"Excellent!" Avernus cheered, "But we need to discuss a few important things first."

Leto noticed he didn't bother to get up. She asked, "What kind of things?"

"Well first," he began, but then he said something in some strange language that Leto had never heard before.

"What did you say?"

"My point exactly. You don't understand any of the languages spoken on the surface, which is just one of the problems you'll face," Avernus went on, "The other main problem is that you probably won't be treated with acceptance and kindness by most people."

"Why not?" Leto asked.

"In Skyrim, the general population is unaware of the existence of your race," explained Avernus, "In fact, they only know of the Falmer through myths and fairy tales in which your race is portrayed as monsters that commit vile crimes and bring misfortune and misery to others, similar to your stories about us now that I think about it. Well, these stories are unique to the Nordic culture, at least – I hadn't heard them before I met my father – but Nordic humans form the majority of Skyrim's population and most people are too ignorant to know any better."

Leto knew all too well what Avernus was talking about. She knew how prejudiced people could be towards others. She had experienced it growing up, with tales of the "surface monsters" and later throughout life, this time on the receiving end, as a member of the lower castes of her society. It saddened her to hear that Avernus's people weren't any different.

"Also," Avernus continued, "your appearance certainly won't help their preconceptions either."

"What's wrong with my appearance?" Leto asked.

"Nothing is inherently _wrong_ with your appearance, Leto; the problem lies with people. Compare how you look, to how I look. Look at my hands and feet, my face, and my teeth," Avernus said as he showed her his mutilated appendages and bared his teeth, before continuing, "Now look at yours. I have weak, smooth nails that aren't much use, while you have strong, razor-sharp claws. I have blunt teeth, while yours are jagged and pointy. I have a nose that protrudes from my face, while you simply have two large nostrils. You are physically different from the races that live on the surface. One of the problems with people is that they tend to latch on to differences between themselves, however minor, and use these differences to separate and divide themselves, and your differences are quite noticeable. By the standards of the surface races, you _look_ like a monster, and in the minds of some people, this will support the validity of their ridiculous fairy tales."

Of course, Leto had noticed these differences before, but she paid them no mind. To her, they were insignificant. She had noticed Avernus's funny nose, his seemingly underdeveloped claws, and strange teeth but to her these differences didn't matter. She certainly didn't think that they made him a monster.

"Do _you_ think I'm a monster?" Leto asked him. Avernus seemed a bit taken aback by her question and didn't immediately answer her.

"Of course I don't," he answered in a somewhat astonished tone, "Leto, these are just minor anatomical differences; they don't make you a monster. I don't find your appearance the least bit unsettling either, if that's also what you meant."

"That's … good then. Thank you, Avernus," she responded quietly. It relieved her that Avernus was different, but she still found the idea of herself being considered a monster to be depressing.

Avernus snorted. "Don't thank me just for having some decency," he said, seeming somewhat amused, "But anyways, my point is that because of all these obstacles, you'll have a very difficult time on the surface. That said, I wish to accompany you further once we reach the surface."

"You do?" Leto asked.

"Yes," Avernus answered, "I know how society functions on the surface, and I can help out with the two major problems I explained; I can translate for you, and perhaps people will be less hostile towards you if they see me with you. What do you say?"

Avernus's proposition delighted Leto. She knew that society on the surface was completely alien to her and that she would need a guide, and was going to ask Avernus if she could stay with him anyways.

"Thank you, Avernus. That's very generous of you," she said, as she leaned over and embraced him once more.

"So where will we go?" Leto asked as she released Avernus, "I'll go where you go, since you know the surface and I don't."

"The closest settlement to our location should be a town called Helgen," Avernus explained, "And then from there, we can make our way to the city of Whiterun, where my family is. Sound good?"

"Yes," was all Leto replied with.

"Great! Help me up, then?" Avernus asked.

Leto stood up and offered Avernus her arm. He grasped it and she gently pulled him to his feet. He was so light, she noted, that it hardly took any effort at all. With Avernus once more leaning on Leto for support, the two then made their way down the relatively short corridor and through the small room beyond until they reached the heavy doors that separated them from the outside.

"Ready?" Avernus asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Leto answered. She disengaged herself from Avernus and placed her hands on the doors. Banishing any remaining uncertainties, she shoved the heavy doors open.

After spending nearly her entire life without sight, the amount of light that now assaulted her eyes was painful. Leto quickly covered her eyes with her hand and peered out through tiny gaps between her fingers. Even then, it was still incredibly bright. She heard Avernus mutter something about "midday", whatever that meant. After a few moments, her eyes had acclimatized enough so that she could gaze out without shielding her eyes with her hands.

The outside was so different from her home. There seemed to be a path sloping downwards and leading away from the building they were in, except that it wasn't made of cobbles, like the roads of the Dead Ones; instead it was made of dirt. And all around them were these really strange plant-like objects that seemed entirely alien to Leto. They were very tall, rising to great heights and towering over the small building that Leto and Avernus were in. They seemed to consist of one main trunk-like body, with numerous smaller ones branching out from all over it. And the branches had these small, pointy things sticking out from all over them that were of a different colour than the rest of the tree; she still didn't know the names of the colours. They looked very strange to Leto. Avernus had to know what they were, though. She turned back to him and offered him her support again.

"Avernus, what are all those things?" She asked as she pointed to the strange, towering things.

"Those are trees, Leto," he laughed, "They're really big, woody plants. They need sunlight in order to survive and grow, which is part of the reason why there aren't any underground. See needles? That colour is called green, and the colour of the trunk is called brown."

"But let's get moving," he said, "You can ask more questions as we walk to Helgen."

"I don't know the way, Avernus," she responded.

"That's fine. This path should lead to the main road, where there'll be signs."

And with that, the two set off down the sloped path and towards Helgen. Being outside was very strange to Leto. Unlike in her former home, the air _moved_ and blew against the two, making them colder. Avernus had called it "wind" when she asked him about it. It was very strange. And then there were all sorts of new smells too! The trees and the flowers and the animals all had scents that Leto had never experienced while underground. And the surface had such interesting animals! There were small, furry ones that hopped around and there were larger, four-legged ones that had things growing out of their heads that looked like tree branches and there were even some animals that flew in the sky! Avernus had called them "rabbits", "deer", and "birds" respectively. Leto had only been on the surface for a short time but it was already so different from her home, it was amazing!

Even the feel of the dirt path beneath her bare feet was something entirely new! It was soft and cool, and just so different from the hard, sharp rock of the caves and ruins of the Dead Ones. Leto had no need for shoes, of course, since, like all Falmer, she had a thick, leathery layer of skin on the bottoms of her feet that functioned like naturally-occurring soles.

And so on they walked, down the path and onto the main road leading to Helgen. Leto would see or hear or smell something new, and she would ask Avernus what it was. And with each new thing she discovered about the surface, with each new scent or sound or sight, the beauty of the surface seemed to grow.

Every now and then, the pain in Avernus's leg would force them to stop and rest. Sometimes there would be a fallen tree by the side of the road and they would go sit on it while Avernus recovered his stamina. While Avernus rested, Leto would take the opportunity to examine her surroundings in greater detail. Sometimes she would pick the bright, colourful flowers and she would feel them and smell them and then ask Avernus about them. They were so different from the various fungi that grew in her subterranean home. She quickly learned the names of many different colours this way.

As the hours passed, however, Leto noticed a funny thing happening: the big, bright light in the sky moved, and got dimmer and changed colour slightly. The sky got darker and the area around the strange light turned from a light blue colour to shades of orange and pink. It was really weird! When she asked Avernus about it, he said that the bright light was called the sun and that it rises, travels across the sky, and sets in one cycle. He said that on the surface, the part of the cycle when the sun is high in the sky is called "day", and when it's disappeared, it's called "night". He said day and night can be divided into further time periods: when the sun is rising, it's "dawn", when it's still low in the sky, it's "morning", it's "afternoon" or "midday" when it's high in the sky, "evening" when it's lower in the sky again, and "dusk" when it's setting. It seemed complicated to Leto, but it was also quite fascinating.

As the sun continued to set and the sky darkened considerably, Avernus decided to call it a day.

"We can eat, go to sleep, and then walk the rest of the way tomorrow. Helgen can't be far off now," he stated.

Leto agreed and led him off the road. Just a short ways into the trees, there was a large outcropping of rock that formed a small overhang that faced parallel to the road. It would provide adequate shelter, Leto thought, as she led Avernus over to it. Avernus carefully sat down underneath the rock while Leto took off her satchel and weapons and, setting them on the ground, began to dig around inside the bag for the two cloaks she had packed. It was colder outside on the surface than underground, especially with the sun slowly setting, and they would need the cloaks for warmth while they slept.

But before she could pull the cloaks out, a sound off to the right and away from the road, caught her attention. It was very faint and almost like the snapping of a twig. Leto turned in the direction the sound came from, but all she saw in the faint light were rocks and trees. Straining her ears, she could just barely hear soft, muffled noises, almost like footfalls. At first, Leto thought it was just another animal, but then she realized the scent was different from those of the animals Avernus had identified for her.

By now, Avernus had noticed Leto's behaviour and turned to her. "What's wrong?" he asked, but before she could answer, an arrow flew out of a bush about ten paces away right before two hulking figures dressed in crude fur armour leapt out from their cover, a pair of trees by the bush. The arrow just missed Leto, but she heard Avernus shriek in pain behind her.

Quickly, Leto grabbed her two swords and, mustering all her strength, threw one with deadly accuracy into the bush the arrow came from. She was rewarded with a howl of pain as the concealed bowman was neutralized. She then rushed up to meet the two charging combatants. One was armed with a sword and shield, she noticed, while the other had a massive battle-axe.

The distance between Leto and the assailants now closed, she blocked the sword-bearer's attack and followed up with a kick to his chest, knocking him backwards. Avoiding the swing of the second assailant's axe, Leto darted to the side of the first bandit, keeping low to the ground and slashing out at his unprotected calves. He screamed and toppled over on his back. As soon as he hit the ground, Leto stabbed him in the throat and quickly turned to face the remaining bandit.

He was already bringing his massive axe around in a sweeping horizontal arc. Leto brought her sword up just in time to block, but the force of the swing was so great that her sword was knocked from her hands. She had no time to pick it up since the bandit was already following up with a great downward swing, so instead, Leto used her natural weapons. As the axe came down, Leto darted to the side just in time, leapt at the bandit, and swiped her claws at his face. The bandit cried out in surprise and stumbled back. Taking advantage of his shock, Leto dug the claws of her left hand into the bandit's shoulder while the claws of her right hand sunk into his neck. His screams were silenced as she ripped her claws across his throat, severing the trachea and arteries as she went. The bandit then slumped to the ground where he proceeded to rapidly bleed to death.

Leto quickly grabbed her sword, wiped her bloodied hands off on the dead bandit's furs, and rushed back to Avernus. Blood soaked his clothes, but he had pulled the arrow out and it seemed as if he magically healed the wound. However, his breathing was short and irregular, and he was starting to sweat, despite the chill in the air. Leto also found his heart to be beating erratically when she checked his pulse.

"Avernus, what's wrong?" she frantically asked.

"I think I've … been poisoned," Avernus gasped out between laboured breaths.

Leto quickly considered giving him one of the poison antidotes she had packed in the satchel. But those were meant to counter the venom of the chaurus. Avernus had likely been poisoned with a different venom and so her antidotes might not work. Still, it was worth a try she figured. She dug around inside the bag and pulled out one of the antidotes.

"Here," she said as she thrust it into his hands, "Chaurus venom antidote. It might help. Worth a shot."

"Thanks. But … search the archer. Bring me his poison … and get his valuables. In case the antidote doesn't work," Avernus groaned out.

Leto hastened to do as she was instructed. Darting over to the slain archer hidden in the bush, she retrieved her sword and began searching him for the poison he had used and anything else of value. After a few brief moments, she had relieved the corpse of several vials of what she concluded must be the poison, as well as a hefty coin-purse.

She hurried back to Avernus in time to witness him attempt to shakily raise himself up, only end up collapsing again. His breathing was becoming more laboured and by now his skin was covered in a sheen of sweat. The antidote didn't seem to be working. Perhaps it needed more time, but what if it ultimately didn't work? She needed to do something, and quickly!

But what could she do? She didn't know more advanced healing magic beyond closing simple wounds, nor was she familiar with the properties of the alchemical ingredients of the surface so she couldn't make him an antidote. She didn't even know what kind of poison the bandit had used! Then, all of a sudden, a thought struck her.

"Helgen," she said, "Would it have a healer?"

"Probably. Help me up?" he asked, clearly in pain.

Leto ignored him for the moment. Instead, she quickly gathered up their supplies and shoved them back into the satchel, as well as reequipping her weapons. Next, she grabbed Avernus, hoisted him up and slung him over her shoulder. It wasn't hard since she was actually bigger and stronger than him. He was, by now, too weak to protest and simply groaned in pain.

Carrying a poisoned, crippled Avernus, Leto headed back onto the main road and started running in the direction of Helgen.

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><p><strong>And there it is. I'm sure you can all see where this is going. Good? Bad? Utter shit? Let me know!<strong> **onstructive criticism or even just your opinions are greatly appreciated!**

**Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Now have a nice day (or night), I'm going to bed now :P**


	4. Chapter IV

**Alrighty, here's Chapter IV. Actually, I kind of consider this as the first part of one chapter, really. You'll see why, I'm sure. **Also, a huge thanks to everyone who's read this far, and especially to those who've added this story to their alerts and favourites, and who've left such kind reviews. I really appreciate them, so thank you! ^_^** **

**Disclaimer: Avernus and Leto are mine, everything else in the awesomeness that is Skyrim belongs to Bethesda **

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><p>Unferth shivered as he stood guard in front of Helgen's gate. He, along with his fellow guardsman, Evoric, had had the misfortune of being assigned to the night shift. It was always worse than a regular daytime shift. For one, it was that much colder without the sun up, and even with fur-lined armour, the chill was still able to creep its way inside through his uniform. The other thing was that nothing ever happened. Travellers rarely ever arrived during the small hours of the night and there usually weren't any bandits stalking the roads. Hell, even the packs of wolves and giant spiders that infested Skyrim were busy sleeping. Sure, it was a lot safer, but it was also excruciatingly boring. <em>Fucking nightshifts. <em>

"Hey Unferth, what's that?" Evoric asked, interrupting Unferth from his brooding, as he pointed down the road off in the distance. Following his gaze, he could just make out some sort of movement off in the darkness, but it was too far away from the light of the wall-mounted torches for Unferth to identify it. Whatever it was, it seemed to be approaching Helgen, though.

Focusing his eyes as much as possible, Unferth could just make out a silhouette as the figure approached. It was tall and thin, seemed to be carrying something slung over its shoulder, and appeared as if it was actually running towards them. As the figure drew closer to the gates and more of the torches' light fell on it, Unferth could see that the figure resembled a rather tall woman, carrying another person over her shoulder. That was certainly strange.

As the woman drew closer to the gate and Unferth was able to make her out in greater detail, what he saw both shocked and frightened him, causing him to instinctively draw his sword. The woman, he saw, had thin, bony hands that ended in viciously sharp claws that looked as if they could easily flay him alive. Her nose looked like it had been absorbed back into her face and consisted of two gaping slits that must have served as nostrils. Her teeth were jagged, pointy things that looked well suited to tearing flesh apart. Oddly enough, she had pointed ears and larger-than-normal eyes, and resembled some sort of horrifying half-elf, half-goblin hybrid. She was big too, standing at least as tall as Unferth, which made her appearance that much more intimidating. Evoric seemed to be affected similarly as he too had drawn his sword and was staring in dumbfound horror at the approaching woman. Or _creature_ or whatever she was.

`By Talos, what _is_ she?" Unferth asked, partly to Evoric but mostly to himself.

The monster-woman had now reached the two guardsmen and Unferth saw that the object she was carrying over her shoulder was a body! She turned to Unferth, who had by now raised his sword in preparation for attack. Contrary to any and all expectations, she started _speaking_ to him! However, Unferth couldn't understand a thing she said since she was speaking rapidly in a language that was completely foreign to him. Interestingly enough, though, her voice sounded just like any other woman's, which was a sharp contrast to what his eyes told him.

Unferth had, by now, lowered his sword and was staring dumbly at the very curious sight before him, trying to make sense of what this…thing was trying to tell him.

"What are you saying? I don't understand you," he tried telling her, but she kept on talking to him in that strange language. It seemed like she was in a panic.

"Evoric! What in Oblivion is she saying?" he asked his fellow guardsman, though not really expecting any useful answer to his question.

"I'll be damned if I know," Evoric retorted as he continued to stare at them.

The she-creature was now gesturing, with her horrendous claws, to the body, a frail, grey-skinned, male elf, that she was carrying. When he diverted his attention to the body, upon briefly examining it he was surprised to see that the poor man was still alive! The unconscious man was just barely breathing and, upon checking, also had a pulse. It was weak and erratic, but still there nevertheless. Returning his attention to the she-monster, he saw her produce a bloodied arrow and a small, green vial and hand the items to him.

Noticing the man's clothes were soaked in blood, he concluded that he must have been shot with the arrow. Unferth then examined the vial, uncorking it and cursorily sniffed the contents. What he detected was the rather distinct venom of the frostbite spider.

The scene in front of him at least partially made sense now. The man's symptoms matched the effects of frostbite venom and the monster-woman, whatever she was, seemed to be seeking out aid for the poor man.

"Hey Evoric, this man's been poisoned with frostbite venom," Unferth informed his partner, "And this creature – or woman, or whatever she is – must have been looking for aid. We have to get this man to a healer."

"Alright, but what do we do about her?" Evoric asked. Unferth turned to see the goblin-elf hybrid thing staring at the two of them in apparent curiosity.

"Well, she doesn't seem violent, which is more than we can say for other monsters," Unferth noted, "I'm guessing she'll want to accompany her friend to the healer."

"Are you mad? You want to let her into the town? Look at her! She looks like she could rip us to shreds!" Evoric exclaimed.

"Yeah but she's made no move to attack us so far and besides, there're a lot more guards in the town than there are of her, not to mention all the Imperial soldiers. She'd be outnumbered if she started something," Unferth replied.

"I suppose you're right," Evoric acquiesced after a moment's consideration, "Grab the man and take them to Eir. She's the best healer the town's got. I gotta stay here. We can't both leave our post to escort them. "

Unferth nodded and went to take the poisoned man. However, as he made to grab the man, the monster-woman bared her vicious teeth and snarled at him, placing a protective claw over the man. Unferth instinctively jerked his hand away, not wanting to have it torn off.

"Uhh, alright then. I guess I won't actually be handling the man myself then," Unferth remarked.

Evoric opened the gates for them and Unferth gestured for the creature to follow. Due to the fact that it was late in the night, there were hardly any people outside in the town, mostly just guards, but the few that were stopped what they were doing to stare, in equal parts fear and curiosity, at Unferth's strange follower. Helgen was a fairly small town so it only took about a few minutes to reach Eir's house, which was situated right against the inner stone wall surrounding the keep.

Unferth walked up to the front door and thumped on it hard four times. After a couple minutes of waiting, an ancient-looking woman dressed in nightclothes answered the door. She looked as if she were about to ask Unferth why she had been so rudely woken at such a late hour, but upon catching sight of the monster-woman and the poisoned man slung over her shoulder, any words she may have had immediately died in her throat as her eyes widened in frightened surprise.

"I'm sorry to disturb you so late in the night, Eir," Unferth began, "But the man this…woman is carrying has been poisoned with frostbite venom and is very quickly approaching death's door. His strange companion brought him here seeking a healer. Will you lend them your aid?"

"Y-yes, of course," Eir stuttered out, still somewhat unsettled by the she-creature.

"I will, of course, make sure a guard is sent over for your personal protection," Unferth told her.

"Thank you, guardsman," Eir responded as she gestured for the she-creature to follow her inside.

As she closed the door, Unferth turned and made for the keep to put in his request with the guard captain.

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><p>The first thing Avernus noticed when he regained consciousness was how terrible he felt. He felt weak, much weaker than normal, and his body ached all over, to the point of being outright painful in some areas, most notably his crippled right leg. He shifted around in the bed to try and get himself into a somewhat more comfortable position.<p>

_Wait, what? When did I find a bed? _Avernus tried to think, going over his last memories. He had been shot with a poisoned arrow by bandits, who Leto had made short work of. He remembered Leto checking on him afterwards, monitoring his pulse and breathing. Then she quite suddenly picked him up, threw him over her shoulder as if he weighed nothing, and began running. Then … nothing. He must have passed out. Had Leto taken him to a healer?

Opening his eyes, Avernus saw that he was indeed lying in someone's bed. Looking around, he found that he was in a small room, likely in someone's house. His bed was wedged up against a wall on the right, which also possessed a window that showed it was early in the morning if the faint grey light was anything to go by. To the left of the small bed were a dresser and a small table with two chairs. At the wall facing the bed was a wardrobe and a door leading to the rest of the house and at the foot of the bed, there sat a chest.

Avernus noticed Leto slumped in one of the chairs, her head leaning over the back of the chair, and mouth hanging open slightly. She was clearly asleep. In the other chair sat a guard, dressed in the heraldry of Falkreath Hold. He, however, was not asleep and was looking rather bored.

Avernus's head throbbed as he sat up in the bed, groaning as he did so, and let the blanket fall down his torso.

"Huh, you're awake," the guard remarked in Nordic after taking notice of Avernus, "I should probably go tell Eir then." And with that, the guard got up and left the room.

_Who's Eir_? Avernus wonder. It sounded like a woman's name. Perhaps she was the healer who fixed him up, he reasoned.

Leto, upon hearing the guard speak and then thump loudly out of the room, began to wake up. Her eyes lazily drifted open, and she yawned as she rose from the chair and stretched. Upon seeing Avernus, Leto let out a small, surprised gasp.

"Avernus, you're awake!" she exclaimed as she rushed over to the small bed, sat down beside Avernus, and enveloped him in a warm hug, "Thank the gods, I was so worried!"

"Hello, Leto," he said with a smile as he gladly returned the embrace, "Did you bring me here?"

"Yes," was all she said, as Avernus felt her head nod against his shoulder. Soon after, she released him from the embrace. Avernus immediately missed the contact.

"That's twice now you've saved my life," he remarked with a chuckle. Leto didn't say anything; instead, she just smiled meekly and nodded a couple times.

"Thank you, Leto," Avernus said, "Thank you for everything you've done for me."

"You're my friend, Avernus, and that's what friends do," Leto replied with a smile, "I'm glad to be able to help you."

At that moment, however, the guard returned with an elderly woman in tow. Her wispy hair was white as snow, her face was lined with wrinkles, and she was dressed in rough clothing. She was carrying a tray of food and drink, and carefully set it down on the table. She then turned to face Avernus.

"Hello, dear. I'm glad to see you're awake. Do you speak Nordic?"

"I do," Avernus replied in perfectly accented Nordic, "You're Eir, I presume?"

"I am Eir," she confirmed, "How are you feeling, dear? You were in a very bad condition when you were brought here."

"Weak. And sore," he replied, "But I don't feel the effects of the poison in my system anymore so I can't complain. Thank you very much for your aid and hospitality, Eir."

"You're quite welcome, dear," the old healer replied, "You're very fortunate your companion brought you here in time. In fact, being as… thin as you are, I'm surprised you've been recovering as well as you have." As she said this, Avernus saw her eyes travelling up and down his body. His starved condition was evident even when he was clothed; all one had to do was see how Avernus was practically swimming in his scavenged clothes.

"Speaking of your companion," said the guard at the door, who had remained silent until now, "What strange manner of creature _is_ she?"

Avernus frowned at the man. "This _woman_," he angrily emphasized, "is a Snow Elf, or Falmer, whichever you prefer. She is a dear friend and most certainly _not_ a creature. Although, I'm curious; why is there a guard keeping watch over me?"

"Not you. Her," the guard replied while jerking his head in Leto's direction. Avernus didn't need him to elaborate further. The man's particular choice of words for referring to Leto made it obvious. The town guard apparently viewed Leto as a creature and therefore something dangerous that needed to be kept under observation. No doubt it was because of her rather unique anatomy. While the shallowness of it certainly annoyed Avernus, he could see the thinking behind it.

Of course, Leto just stared at whoever happened to be talking, not understanding what was being said and looking rather curious the whole time. Eir broke the awkward silence that was starting to form by handing Avernus a small drink from the tray of food.

"Here, drink this, dear," she instructed, "The poison is flushed from your body but you're still recovering from the effects. This tonic should help you recover more quickly. And of course, I brought food for you and your friend. You look like you haven't had a good meal in ages, dear."

"Thank you, Eir. But speaking of ages, what's the current date? And year?" inquired Avernus.

"Morndas, the seventeenth of Last Seed in the 201st year of the Fourth Era," the guard answered.

Avernus was struck silent. He had been stuck underground for two and half years. Two and a half long, painful, hungry years! Although, strangely enough, he was more curious than undespaired.

What did that mean for him now? If he was reported as missing, surely any search for him and his fellow expedition members would have been long over. In the eyes of everyone he knew, he was probably dead by now. Most likely his job at the University was gone, taken over by someone else no doubt. They would have reported this to his family, who also probably think him dead, now. That got Avernus thinking, as he was quite close to his family, especially his mother. _What did they go through_, he wondered. _What was it like for Mother to be told that her son was dead? How much pain had they suffered?_

As Avernus continued to contemplate his situation, his curiosity turned to sadness and guilt. His family believed him dead and no doubt suffered because of it. He felt as if he were somehow responsible. The logical part of Avernus's mind told him that he had no control over his situation once he had been captured, so it would be irrational for blame to be assigned to him. But it still _felt_ as if it was his fault since, once more, he was at the centre of events that no doubt had caused his mother and the rest of his family misery.

"I see. Thank you," Avernus replied to the guard in a flat, even tone, attempting to keep his emotions from showing. It wasn't hard.

"Well like I said," Eir began, "you're still recovering from the effects of the poison, but you should be fully recovered by tomorrow. You're welcome to stay until then, dear. I'll leave you and your friend to yourselves. Just shout if you need anything."

"Thank you very much, Eir," Avernus replied, "That's very kind of you."

"Not a problem, dear," the old healer replied, a smile stretching her wrinkled face. She then turned and left the room, followed by the guard.

Avernus then drank the vile-tasting tonic and set the small cup down on the chest. Preparing to get up, he looked for the broken staff he had been using as a cane for a moment before realising it wasn't there.

"I didn't have time to get your cane, Avernus. I'm sorry," Leto told him in Falmeri, as if reading his mind.

"Don't worry about it, I'll find another one," he replied with a smile, "Could you help me to the table though?"

"Of course," Leto said as she went over to Avernus's side to help him.

Without his cane, it would be more difficult and awkward to assist him with mobility, but the table was very close by so Leto just picked him up and gently sat him down in a chair. It still felt strange to Avernus to be handled so easily and effortlessly. A small, more primitive part of his mind felt indignant and emasculated by the fact that a _woman_ was quite obviously bigger and stronger than him, and that he was so easily manhandled by her, but he was able to ignore these irrational thoughts.

"Were you talking about me?" Leto asked once she sat Avernus down.

"The guard wanted to know what you are, and said he was here to keep an eye on you," Avernus explained in a somewhat annoyed tone of voice, "I'm sorry about their ignorance."

"It's alright, I understand," replied Leto.

"It's _not_ alright, but I suppose it's understandable," Avernus said, "But mostly the healer – her name's Eir – was just checking up on my condition. She said I'm still recovering, but I'm fine otherwise."

Leto merely nodded and sat down in the chair opposite Avernus, who then began examining the food Eir had brought them. After being starved for the last two and a half years, the amount of food that Eir brought looked like king's feast to Avernus. There was a whole loaf of bread, some butter, a couple large wedges of cheese, two plates of fried eggs and ham, and a pitcher of water with two cups. Avernus's mouth instantly began to water.

However, before he could start eating, his attention was drawn towards Leto. She had picked up the bread and after staring at it for a second, brought it to her face and started sniffing it. After a moment, she put it back down on the platter and stared at the rest of the food.

"I've never had food like this before," she said, "What are these things? What's in them?"

"This is bread," Avernus said as he picked up the loaf of bread, ripped it in half, and gave one piece to Leto, "It's made from a plant called wheat. We take the seeds, grind them into a powder, mix it with water and a couple other things, and then bake it."

"These foods are butter, and cheese," he said as he motioned to each food respectively, "They're made from the milk of an animal called a cow. Butter is meant to be eaten with bread. Cheese can be eaten either with bread, or on its own."

"And these things," he said as he pointed to the eggs, "are the fried eggs of a chicken, which are a type of domesticated bird that's incapable of long-distance flight."

Leto nodded and then looked at the cheese and butter for a moment, with one eyebrow raised in mild surprise. "You consume the milk of other animals?"

Avernus laughed at that. "I've always found that a bit strange too, seeing as how we've never recorded or observed any other animals that do this. Still, they taste good."

Leto then picked up a wedge of cheese and tried to take a bite. However, due to her markedly different dentition, rather than biting off one chunk, she crumbled it into several smaller pieces, a couple of which fell onto the table. Avernus chuckled some more as Leto picked up the remaining pieces and stuffed them back into her mouth, looking embarrassed the whole time.

"Your food is weird," she said after she swallowed the pieces, which caused Avernus to laugh some more.

"Not any stranger than the fungi your people eat," Avernus lightly retorted.

"Hey, eating fungi isn't strange. They grow all over; why wouldn't we eat them?" Leto countered.

"A fair point, but it's all relative. Above ground, fungi aren't common as food so to us it's strange," replied Avernus.

"Alright, I'll give you that one," Leto said.

"You're too kind, Madam," Avernus jested.

"Just eat your weird food," Leto said with a giggle.

The pair continued to eat their meals in much the same manner, with the novelty of the food to Leto amusing Avernus. He would occasionally make a joking remark and Leto would jest back, and all the while Avernus was ever more drawn to her. Leto's amusing reactions to the food had served as yet another indicator of just how _different_ she was, and these differences, from her appearance and anatomy to her behaviours and reactions, fascinated Avernus.

What fascinated Avernus the most, however, was the range of extremes that Leto displayed, again in both her appearance as well as behaviour. Her sharp, vicious-looking claws and jagged teeth were a stark contrast to her enchanting, luminescent, violet eyes and her soft, beautiful black hair. Her brutal skill and efficiency in combat clashed sharply against the gentle, caring manner in which she treated him. It utterly captivated Avernus.

Ever since she had sprung him from his cell in the Falmer torture chambers several days ago, since that day when their futures had more or less become bound together, he found himself thinking about her increasingly often. Originally it had puzzled him, but, as Avernus ate his meal and continued talking to Leto and observing her, he came to the realization that he was actually _attracted _to her, and this unnerved him.

However, his thoughts were interrupted by the sudden sounds of panic and commotion that had sprung up outside. Glancing out the window, Avernus could see people running around in panic. Suddenly, a great column of flames, accompanied by another tremendous roar, shot from the sky and consumed the house across the street from Eir's. Leto sprang to her feet, and dashed to the window, opening it and peering out.

"There's a large, flying creature that breathes flame," she exclaimed as she hurried back to Avernus, a look of fear adorning her face, "What is it, Avernus? Do you know?"

"A dragon! I thought they were extinct though," Avernus replied excitedly, "But either way, we need to escape. We'll be burned alive if we stay here. We need to get to safety. Underground, perhaps. Or maybe a large, stone building."

Leto nodded and went to grab her supplies. Next, she grabbed Avernus and once more slung him over her shoulder in a most undignified manner. Avernus was too worried about being barbequed by a giant flying lizard to care, though. As the strange pair made their way outside, they noticed that Eir and the guard that had been accompanying her had already fled.

Chaos and pandemonium were rampant in the streets of Helgen. In the few short moments since the dragon had arrived, numerous buildings had been set ablaze and a couple had even collapsed. Screams of terror and pain filled the air as well as the roaring of blazing fires. Bodies – civilian and soldier alike – lay either dead or dying in the streets. Survivors ran past them, running in any direction that they thought was out of the way of the dragon's path of destruction, and soldiers hurried to and fro in a seemingly futile attempt to muster a defence. The dragon itself could be seen flying over the chaos below, periodically breathing torrents of flame upon the scurrying people below. All this, Avernus saw from his position over Leto's shoulder.

Leto then began running and Avernus lost sight of the dragon. She easily avoided obstacles, darting around heaps of flaming rubble and dashing over dying bodies. All the while, Avernus simply dangled from her shoulder, feeling as useless as ever. They passed through a couple burning streets, under a stone gateway, and into a large, relatively empty walled courtyard filled with imperial soldiers.

As they entered, Avernus caught sight of the giant flying beast once more as it flew over him and Leto. However, as the dragon flew off in the distance, it made a sharp turn and circled back, heading for the courtyard. Each flap of its leathery wings brought the creature ever closer and it seemed as if it meant to burn the courtyard to the ground next.

"Leto, put me down. The dragon's headed right for us," Avernus commanded.

"What? Are you crazy? We need to-"

"Just put me down! Trust me, Leto," Avernus pleaded. Leto acquiesced and hurriedly set Avernus on the ground while still offering him support.

"Stay close," instructed Avernus. So far, the dragon seemed to be mostly attacking with its flame breath, and Avernus knew a way he could protect against that, though it would take significant energy. He quickly tapped into his reserve of magicka, drawing on great amounts and prepared to cast the necessary spell.

The dragon was nearly on them now and opened its gaping maw as it prepared to breathe fiery death. Immediately, Avernus unleashed the built up magic and shaped it into a strong protective ward. It wasn't one of the small, localized barriers projected in front of the caster, but rather this ward formed a continuous, spherical shell of protective energies that enclosed himself and Leto, shimmering and glowing brightly.

As the dragon attacked, a torrent of flame crashed and broke against the magical barrier, assaulting the ward as if they had a will of their own. The sheer amount of energy that buffeted the ward was monumental and required an equally tremendous amount of energy to protect against, but Avernus held firm, knowing that if he gave out for even a second, it would be the end for not only him, but Leto, his friend and saviour, as well.

A couple seconds passed and the flames subsided, allowing Avernus to drop the magical shield. Such a large expenditure of energy had been tiring and difficult to sustain, but it had obviously proved effective in keeping them from harm. The other imperial soldiers in the courtyard, however, hadn't been so lucky if the newly charred and smoking corpses were anything to go by.

As soon as Avernus dropped the barrier, Leto picked him up again and continued onwards, through the courtyard towards the large, stone keep at the other end. Shoving open the doors, she entered with Avernus still slung over her shoulder and quickly shut them afterwards. The thick heavy doors helped to somewhat muffle the noise somewhat, but the chaos raging outside was still quite loud.

The room they were in appeared to be a barracks of some sort. The room was dimly lit and there were numerous single-beds lined up in a row on one side, each with a chest at the foot of it. On the other side of the room, there were a couple tables and cupboards. Leto walked over to one of the beds and sat Avernus down, before taking a seat next to him herself.

"What do we do now?" she asked. Avernus thought for a moment. To say that the dragon's attack was unexpected would be a massive understatement. They were supposed to be extinct! The Dragon War had been over for millennia and no dragons had been since. But why did the dragon have to attack Helgen of all places? Why couldn't Avernus rest and recover without someone or something trying to kill him? Still, the dragon attack had changed nothing; he still had to get to Whiterun.

"We have to escape Helgen, that much is obvious," he began, "If my memory of Skyrim's geography is correct, then the closest town from here would be Riverwood. From there, we can make our way to Whiterun."

"But how do we escape Helgen?" Leto queried.

"Well, this building seems to be some sort of military fort. That means it's built to last and has good protection," Avernus answered, "It probably also has several ways in and out, so we might be able to find an escape route that's out of the way of the dragon."

Leto nodded and continued to catch her breath. As light as Avernus was, it was probably still quite tiring for her to haul him around like that. He wasn't concerned though; the heavy stone architecture of the fort would provide some protection from the dragon's attack so they could afford to rest for a moment or two.

Avernus looked around the room some more and caught sight of something interesting: next to one of the cupboards on the opposite side of the room was a tall, metal candle stand. An idea struck him.

With a gesture, he summoned a telekinetic force and dragged the object back across the room to him. Leto watched him with curiosity, wondering what he planned to do, no doubt. Once he had the candle stand, he applied a few more telekinetic forces, acting in opposing directions at the bottom and top. The base and the rack sheared off with loud, metallic cracking sounds, leaving only the shaft. Applying yet more force, Avernus then bent the top portion of the shaft into a ninety-degree angle, effectively fashioning himself a new cane.

"Much better," he stated with a smile, "Now you don't have to carry me like a useless sack of potatoes through the rest of this fort."

"Clever," remarked Leto.

At that moment however, the heavy doors of the barracks opened once more and a lone Imperial soldier entered. Upon catching sight of Avernus and Leto, his eyes widened ever so slightly in surprise, seeming somewhat taken aback. He quickly regained his composure, however, and addressed the pair.

"So it looks like the rumours about the savage cave-woman and her starving companion were true," the soldier said in Nordic as he walked up them, "Still, I'm just glad I'm not the only one who made it. Can you understand me at all?"

"I can understand you," Avernus replied in Nordic, "My friend can't, however. Do you know a way out of here?"

"Yes, there's a path through this keep that leads out of Helgen and straight into the wilderness," the soldier replied, "But it's probably swarming with escaped Stormlcoaks by now."

"Who?" asked Avernus.

"You don't know who the Stormcloaks are?" the soldier asked incredulously, "Have you been living under a rock for the past year?"

"Two and a half actually, and just recently escaped," Avernus answered calmly, "I would have thought that was evident by my condition alone, to say nothing of my choice of companion."

"Right. Dumb question, sorry," replied the soldier, "Anyways, the Stormcloaks are a separatist faction, led by Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak of Windhelm, that seeks independence from the Empire. Though, they're little more than a bunch of rebels waging a petty guerilla war across the province."

"I see. Well then, I have an offer for you," said Avernus, "You show us the way out of Helgen, and we'll help you get past these Stormcloaks. Sound good?"

The soldier raised an eyebrow in mild disbelief.

"Look, I'm not nearly as useless as I look, and my companion is quite skilled with a blade, I assure you," Avernus retorted.

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that, friend," the soldier said as he raised his hands in apology, "I had helped evacuate some of the civilians outside. I wouldn't ever think of abandoning any other survivors of this disaster."

"Oh, uh thanks then. Sorry for assuming," Avernus apologized, "I'm Avernus, by the way, and my friend here is Leto. And you are?"

"Hadvar. Nice to meet you," the soldier replied, "I just have to grab a couple things. Best get ready to move, friend."

* * *

><p><strong>And there we go, we're locked into the main story now. Well mostly, anyways. I'm not going to stick completely to it; I'll probably change a few things here and there, add or take out some other things. Who likes reading an exact retelling of what you can basically just play in the game, right?<strong>

**Anyways, let me know what you think! Reviews are greatly appreciated and I'll admit, they do provide some motivation. And now I'm off. I hope you enjoyed this, and have a great day ^_^**


	5. Chapter V

**Here's Chapter V, but like I mentioned in my last Author's Note, it can be thought of as a continuation of the last chapter. A couple things before I begin, though. Firstly, several people have mentioned allusions to Dragon Age regarding Leto's and Avernus's names, so I'll explain why I chose those particular names for my characters. **

**While I'm aware that Leto is Fenris's birthname in DA II, I was actually looking at Greek mythology when I picked it. In Greek mythology, Leto was the daughter of two Titans (the gods that came before the Olympians). When Zeus took notice of her, he got horny, banger her, and knocked her up (he did this a _lot _in Greek mythology actually :P ). When Hera (Zeus's wife) found out, she got jealous and made it so that Leto was rejected and shunned by all lands, but eventually Leto found an obscure, barren island unattached to the ocean floor and therefore not proper "land" where she later hid and gave birth to the twins Artemis and Apollo. Aside from this story, she's not really mentioned again in Greek mythology. Seeing as how Leto in my story is from an underground system of caverns unknown to many, and is also a Falmer which most Nords hate and fear, I thought the name was appropriate, and I hope you can appreciate the parallels as well. Also, on a _slightly_ related note, I thought it was funny that Fenris in DA II, a male, had been given the name of a female goddess as his birthname XD**

**And Avernus's name I took directly from Dragon Age. While I haven't actually played the expansion that contains the character his name comes from, I read about and saw videos of the DA Avernus and I thought his character was pretty cool. It's also a fitting name because one, they're both mages and two, Avernus soundslike a latin name, which is what the Imperials' names seem to be based off. Recall that Avernus's mother is Cyrodiilic. And lastly, I picked that name because I thought it sounds awesome. Lame reason, I know, but who cares, I get to do that :D**

**Also, while checking out stuff on Deviant Art, I came across this awesome picture! I imagine Leto would look almost identical to this, except a bit more Falmer-like, ie. nostril shape inverted, nose area slightly flatter, cheekbones higher, claws at the ends of her fingers etc. But these are small details really, and overall, this is almost exactly like how I imagine Leto would look like. The artist says it's a drawing of what a female orc would look like in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings universe, but going off of how the Falmer appear in Skyrim, I think it can also apply to their females as well. I hope you agree. Anyways, it's fantastic! Check it out!**

**http :/ browse . deviantart . com /?qh=§ion=&q=orc+female#/d2ycr19 Minus the spaces of course. I'll shut up now and get on with the story. **

**Disclaimer: I own Leto and Avernus, nothing else. the rest is Bethesda's.**

**Enjoy! **

* * *

><p>As Hadvar rummaged around in a chest on the far side of the room, Leto helped Avernus up and, allowing him to use her for support once more, shambled over to the gate-like door that led further inside.<p>

"So what's happening now?" she asked in Falmeri.

"This man's name is Hadvar. He's an Imperial soldier and he knows a way out of here. He's helping us," Avernus answered, to which Leto simply nodded.

Once Hadvar had acquired whatever items he was looking for, he walked over to the pair and yanked on a pull-chain, causing the door to lift up.

The trio passed through the doorway and into a short corridor. At the other end was another gate-like door with a pull-chain. However, voices were coming through from the other side of the door.

"Stormcloaks," Hadvar warned them, "Maybe we can reason with them."

He pulled the chain and, once more, the door lifted up. As the trio stepped through, Avernus saw two people, a man and a woman, in the circular room. They were dressed in matching uniforms, consisting of a type of padded leather armour draped in blue cloth. Upon catching sight of the trio, they quickly drew their weapons and sprang into a fighting stance. Avernus prepared his magic in response, readying it for an offensive spell just in case.

"Hold on now, we only want to-" Hadvar said while raising his empty palms in a gesture of peace, but he was immediately interrupted as the two Stormcloaks bellowed their war cries and charged.

Hadvar sidestepped the woman's attack while drawing his sword, but the man was charging towards him as well. However, before he made it to Hadvar, Avernus shot a crackling bolt of lightning into the Stormcloak with enough power to send him crashing into the stone walls, where he collapsed in a lightly-steaming heap. Leto had released Avernus by now and drew one of her swords as well, but remained by Avernus's side since Hadvar seemed to be able to hold his own against the other Stormcloak. The Imperial soldier blocked a clumsy swing from the woman and followed up with a slash to her throat, effectively neutralizing her.

"So much for diplomacy," sighed Avernus. Hadvar glanced at the steaming corpse and then looked back to Avernus.

"So you're a mage then," he said in what was more of a statement than a question, "Impressive."

"See? Not as useless as I look," Avernus said.

"Right. I hope you can keep it up; we might need your magic if we land in a tight spot. Let's go," replied Hadvar as he walked over to a door on the other side of the small room. Producing a key from his armour, he unlocked the door and stepped through, followed by Avernus and Leto.

Beyond was a corridor consisting mostly of stairs. In the interest of not wasting time, rather than assisting Avernus and providing additional support, since stairs were especially difficult for him, Leto picked him up and carried him bridal style down the stairs. Hadvar, who had reached the bottom and was waiting for the pair, stared at the sight in curiosity and mild amusement.

Once at the bottom, Leto set Avernus down but before the group could continue onwards, a faint roar from the dragon outside was heard and was quickly following by the collapse of the corridor's ceiling in front of them.

As the noise and dust died down, the group saw the passage was completely blocked about halfway down by the collapsed rubble. However there was also a side door that just missed being blocked off by the rubble. Not having any other option, the group opened the door and passed through.

The room they entered appeared to be a storeroom. There were a couple tables off to one side, and numerous shelves, barrels, and sacks of food lined the walls. Rummaging through a barrel on the other side was another pair of Stormcloaks. Upon hearing the door open and seeing Hadvar in his Imperial uniform, they quickly sprang to their feet, drawing their swords as they did so.

"Death to the Empire!" one of them screamed and then charged forward, followed closely by his companion. Hadvar, not bothering to attempt negotiation this time, already had his sword ready and blocked the swing of the first Stormcloak.

While Hadvar and the first Stormcloak clashed blades, the second Stormcloak charged towards Avernus and Leto, who had disengaged herself from Avernus this time and engaged the onrushing rebel. Her twin Falmer swords drawn, she evaded the soldier's first swing and followed up with an assault of her own. Lashing out with both her swords, she went entirely on the offensive, forcing the Stormcloak to concentrate on blocking her relentless attacks, unable to make any of his own.

Avernus had readied another offensive spell, but didn't have a clear shot at either of the two Stormcloaks. With little else he could do, he kept his magic ready just in case, and simply watched his companions battle the Stormcloaks.

Leto swung high, bringing her one sword down in an overhead arc, forcing the Stormcloak to raise his sword to block her. This left his torso exposed and she took advantage of this, lashing out with a powerful kick and sending the man sprawling backwards into a row of barrels. She rushed up to him and, while he was still picking himself up, stabbed him in the chest with both swords.

Hadvar, meanwhile, was locked in a stalemate with his opponent. He blocked his swings and followed up with attacks of his own, only for his opponent to effectively parry them as well. Back and forth, the two exchanged blows, with neither man gaining the upper hand, until Hadvar detected a movement behind his opponent. He couldn't afford to take his eyes off his opponent's body though, lest he make a mistake that would cost him his life, so he was unable to identify the cause of the movement. However, his battle with the Stormcloak was brought to an abrupt end when the Stormcloak screamed in agony as the tip of a very strange blade protruded through his chest. The blade was withdrawn and the man crumpled to the floor, revealing the savage woman there with her strange swords in hand. Behind her, the other Stormcloak soldier was collapsed in a pool of blood, surrounded by knocked over barrels.

"Thanks for the help," Hadvar said, right before he remembered that she couldn't understand him.

With the two Stormcloak soldiers dead, Leto returned to Avernus and the group of three continued onwards into the fort. The door on the other side of the storeroom opened into the other side of the collapsed corridor, which in turn led down another set of stairs. Once more, Leto scooped Avernus up into her arms and started to carry him down.

As the trio neared the bottom of the stairs, they were able to see a skeleton chained to the wall, and the start of a line of cages by the back wall.

"The torture room," Hadvar announced, and instantly Avernus was filled with unease, "Gods, I wish we didn't need these…" he trailed off as the unmistakable sound of combat drifted up the stairs. The soldier drew his sword and rushed down the stairs to help out whoever was fighting the Stormcloaks. Leto continued descending the stairs at the same pace and made no attempt to try and back up Hadvar. She had Avernus to care for, after all.

"What did he say?" Leto asked.

"That's the _torture_ room up ahead," Avernus spat, venom seeping into his voice. Leto said nothing, instead squeezing him against herself in reassurance as she continued to descend the stairs.

Once Leto reached the bottom and set Avernus down, she saw the two more Stormcloaks lay dead on the floors, with Hadvar and the two original occupants of the room standing over their bodies.

The one was an old, shriveled man dressed in an Imperial uniform with a cowl over his head. He was likely the torturer, Avernus guessed. The other, a big, muscular man also dressed in an Imperial uniform, appeared to be his assistant. Avernus immediately felt a strange combination of loathing and fear towards them, and his instincts _demanded_ that he keep his guard up.

Leto felt an ever-so-slight tingling sensation in the air around Avernus and recognized it as unfocused magical energy. Directing her attention away from the strange humans, who were now talking amongst themselves, and back to Avernus, she found that he was noticeably tense and had stiffened up.

It was quite obvious to her why Avernus was reacting in this manner. Spending years suffering in, what was to her, unimaginable pain and agony in her people's torture chambers must have ingrained in him a deep, instinctual aversion to anything even remotely connected to prisons and torture, and now here they were in yet another torture chamber. Suddenly, Avernus didn't seem like the strong, intelligent man she knew him as; now, he seemed like a small, terrified child and it made her heart ache. She felt compelled to try and comfort him, to help ease his fears.

"It's alright Avernus," she tried soothing him as she wrapped her arms around him protectively, "I don't think they mean to hurt you. And if they did, then I would stop them. You're safe, Avernus. Don't worry."

"You're right; I know I'm being irrational. But I can't help it. This place, those men … it just _feels _… I don't know,_ wrong._ I'm sorry."

"It's alright, I understand. You have nothing to be sorry for," Leto said.

Suddenly, Avernus found that all eyes were on him and Leto. When he met the piercing gaze of the torturer, locked his eyes with those beady black eyes set in that wrinkled face, a chill swept through his ruined body, accompanied by a tingling energy coursing through his veins. His instincts _screamed_ at him to either viciously attack the man, or run as fast and as far away as possible. Never mind his mangled leg, his instincts didn't care. _Stop it Avernus! This isn't helping! _Control_ yourself!_

"Uh … we found some supplies in that cell," Hadvar began uncertainly, obviously aware of Avernus's sudden discomfort, "We were wondering if you, uh … might be able to open it up." He held out some lock picks in one hand and pointed with the other to a cell with a recently dead scholar in it.

Avernus stared dumbly at the lock picks for a moment before ignoring them and turning his attention back to the cell. He formed the appropriate telekinetic fields around the cell door, then, feeling the instinctual need to expend a large amount of energy, explosively ripped the cell door from its hinges in as violent a manner as possible and hurled it into the opposite stone wall with a load, satisfying crash. He felt their eyes on him once again, this time in shock, but damn them all, that felt _good_ and it had helped calm him somewhat.

"Can you check in there for anything useful?" he asked Leto in Falmeri. Nodding, she left his side and entered the cage.

"Oh _please_, just destroy my room, I don't mind at all," he heard the old torturer mutter sarcastically. _Fuck you,_ Avernus thought reflexively.

After a moment of rummaging around in the dead man's satchel and the pockets of his robes, she found several coins and a couple potions, which she stored away in her own bag. In the man's satchel, she also found something she had never come across before. It was a rectangular thing, and opened lengthways. The front and back were hard, but inside was filled with soft, thin sheets of a strange white material, and they were _covered_ in little, tiny, black symbols. Maybe Avernus would know what it is.

"What is this thing?" she asked Avernus as she walked back to him and placed the object in his hand.

"It's a book," he told her immediately. That much was obvious, but having been blind all her life until only a few days ago, she likely wouldn't have ever seen one before, he reasoned. The cover read, _On the Basics of Shock Spells by Quintus Meridius. _

"What's a book?" Leto asked, "And what are all those symbols in it?"

"We should probably get going," Hadvar interrupted in Nordic before Avernus had a chance to answer Leto's question. Avernus simply nodded in response.

"Save this for now," Avernus instructed Leto as he handed the book back to her. "We have to get moving. I'll explain on the way." She did as instructed and the trio set off once again. Much to Avernus's relief, the old torturer and his assistant were not accompanying them. As Avernus put more distance between himself, and that torture room and its inhabitants, he felt his stress and agitation start to slowly die down.

"So a book is an object that contains information," Avernus explained as he limped painfully down the stone corridors. "It either holds accumulated knowledge about the world around us, or it tells a story. Or sometimes even both. Those symbols on the pages are letters. They make up an alphabet and correspond to different sounds made when speaking. When letters are grouped together, they form words, and in this fashion we're able to record our speech onto a lasting physical medium that can be read and reread over and over again. This is how we store our knowledge. Being able to interpret this written transcription of speech is called reading."

"Wow! That seems so … fascinating and wonderful," Leto exclaimed. "Does everyone on the surface read and write?"

"Actually no," responded Avernus in a somewhat sad tone. "Most people that work for governments can read and write. Everyone employed or studying at academic institutions can. But a great deal of the common people can't, such as farmers and labourers."

"Why are those people unable to read or write, if it's so important to your society?" Leto questioned.

"It's because learning to read and write usually costs money, and to many commoners it's not important or necessary and therefore a waste of resources to them. You don't need to be able to read to be able to build a house. I'd say maybe half of Skyrim's population can read. It varies largely according to which province you're in, and I'd say that Skyrim has one of the lower literacy rates."

"I see. Can you … could you teach me to read?" Leto asked uncertainly, but desperately hoping Avernus would say yes. The ability to read and write sounded so wonderful to her. To be able to record knowledge or even thoughts and stories was amazing. It was definitely something her people lacked. If she could learn to read, the she could learn so much more about the surface world from these books they made.

"Of course, Leto! I'd be delighted to be able to help you," he said in a very warm tone. "As soon as we get to Whiterun I can begin teaching you."

"Thank you so much, Avernus!" Leto cried in delight.

"Not a problem," Avernus responded cheerfully.

As the trio continued walking through the fort, the corridors of the lower level they were in gradually changed from manmade stone structures to winding, natural rock caves. At present, there was a lull in conversation between Avernus and Leto, and Hadvar took advantage of this opportunity to strike up a conversation with Avernus.

"So," he began, somewhat uncertainly, "what kind of … - what race is your companion? I've never seen anyone like her before, nor have I heard any language like what you're speaking."

"Leto's a Snow Elf actually," Avernus replied as he continued, with Leto's assistance, limping through the caves, "I'm sure you've heard of them before. And I would imagine that makes the answer to your other question obvious."

"You mean a Falmer?" Hadvar exclaimed in shock.

"Snow Elf. Falmer. Same thing; the two terms are synonymous," Avernus answered.

Of course Hadvar had heard of the Falmer before. They were the subjects of many stories, fairytales, and superstitions that Nordic parents told their children, and almost always portrayed as brutal monsters. Often when he was very little, his mother would tell him frightening stories of the Falmer when he misbehaved to scare him into obedience, he remembered. However, despite being prominent in children's stories, only the most superstitious of people believed the Falmer actually still lived. To see a living representative of a race of monsters was quite startling, and Hadvar began to wonder just how much the stories he had been told were based in fact. The appearance of this Falmer woman, this Leto, certainly suggested they were, at least partially.

"So how did you meet a Falmer? And how'd you learn their language?"

"I was poking around a Dwemer ruin as part of a research expedition two and a half years ago when a group of Falmer jumped our party," Avernus explained, "They got the drop on us and killed all the guards we hired and some of the other scholars too. They dragged the rest of us underground and killed the others after brief interrogations. I was kept alive only because I could speak Falmeri, which I studied at various colleges and universities. Leto helped me escape and together we fled from her people. We wound up at Helgen and I'm sure you know the rest."

"And her people, uh, did … this to you?" Hadvar asked uncertainly, referring to Avernus's mutilated and starved condition.

"Yes," the half-elf stated in a flat tone.

However, before Hadvar could ask his next question, Leto stopped and began speaking to Avernus in her strange tongue. Hadvar couldn't understand what they were saying, but it sounded important, so he simply waited for them to finish.

"Leto says she hears voices up ahead. They could be Stormcloaks so we should be on our guard," Avernus translated after a moment.

"How does she know?" Hadvar asked critically, "I don't hear anything."

"Falmer live in caves and their diet renders them blind. Their other senses become heightened in order to compensate, so Leto's hearing is far sharper than either of ours," explained Avernus.

_So at least that much is true from the stories then,_ Hadvar thought, and it did make sense to him. Heeding the Falmer woman's warning, he drew his sword and proceeded onwards in silence, followed by Leto and Avernus.

After a few twists and turns in the cave, the group saw ahead of them an opening into a larger cavernous area. As they crept closer, they noticed that there were some manmade floors and surfaces. There were a couple stone dishes on short columns that held fires, a sort of cross between an open lamp and a torch, that provided light. In addition, the cavern must have been close to the surface since some light shone through cracks in the cavern's ceiling. Even with these sources of light, however, the cavern was still fairly dark and the edges of the cavern were hidden in shadow. The trio were able to get fairly close to the opening without the occupants becoming aware of their presence

The occupants were indeed Stormcloaks, the group was able to infer. There were at least six or so of them, patrolling the cavern in pairs, but it was possible there was more as well, since not all of the cavern could be viewed from their position in the side cave.

Once more, the Falmer woman began talking to Avernus, this time in hushed whispers. After a few moments of discussion, Avernus translated the outcome to Hadvar.

"Leto says that because the cave is still fairly dark, and since the Stormcloaks still aren't aware of our presence, she can deal with them in a stealthy manner without resorting to full-on combat," he explained.

"Are you sure about this? One person against so many still seems dangerous," Hadvar voiced his doubts.

"She'll stick to the shadows where the light is very dim, she says," Avernus countered, "She's lived in a society where everyone was blind and relied heavily on sharpened hearing. She knows how to be silent."

"And if she gets spotted?" asked Hadvar.

"Then stealth goes out the window and you charge in, distract them for her. I'll support you with my magic," Avernus explained.

Hadvar was silent for a few moments as he considered the option. There were several flaws with the plan, such as the possibility of the Stormcloaks ignoring the distraction once they find the Falmer woman's location, or whether or not enough Stormcloaks being diverted from Leto. But they _were _outnumbered and it would be preferable to avoid direct combat.

"Alright, we can give this a go," he consented at last, "But I want you to help me with the distraction. They're more likely to shift their attention when magic is involved."

"Fair enough," Avernus replied. The cripple then turned to his companion and gave her the go-ahead in her own language. Hadvar watched as she crept without a sound into the cavern and disappeared around the edge of the natural rock wall, keeping to the shadows.

Hadvar continued to track the Stormcloaks movements as he waited for Leto to disclose her presence. He didn't have to wait long however, as only a few moments after the feral woman disappeared around the corner, an arrow flew from the shadows and embedded itself in one of the Stormcloaks' neck. The man dropped to the ground with a short-lived gurgling scream. His partner immediately brought his weapons to bear, but was rewarded with a similar fate for his efforts, an arrow piercing his heart.

By now, shouts were echoing around the cavern as the Stormcloak soldiers tried to locate the hidden assailant. An arrow flew across the cavern and disappeared from the Avernus's and Hadvar's field of view from inside the side passage. It was quickly followed by a man's shrieking and a soft thud.

"There! Over their!" one of the Stormcloaks bellowed and pointed with his sword in the direction that Leto had snuck off to. The remaining Stormcloaks regrouped with their comrade and started running to Leto's now disclosed location. That was Hadvar's cue.

With a loud bellowing war cry, Hadvar raised his sword and charged out into the open, rushing towards the assembled group of Stormcloaks, He had to trust that Avernus and Leto would help him out, since he quite doubted that he could handle that many all on his own. He was not disappointed when a bolt of lightning shot past him and struck one of the Stormcloaks, sending him flying back. A fourth arrow flew from the shadows and struck another Stormcloak, reducing the assembled group to three (for they had missed counting a couple back in the side cave).

Two of the Stormcloaks then broke off, heading in Leto's direction. The remaining rebel charged Hadvar and clashed blades with him, positioning himself in such a way that Hadvar was always between the man and Avernus, preventing the crippled mage from getting a clear shot off.

Fortunately for Hadvar, his current opponent didn't seem to be as skilled in combat as his last opponent in the storeroom. He made the mistake of leaving his lower abdomen unguarded as he raised his blade in an attempt to perform a powerful overhead strike. Hadvar took advantage of his opponent's fatal lapse in judgement and skewered the man upon his sword. The Stormcloak howled in pain as Hadvar pushed him off his blade and he crumpled into a lifeless heap on the ground.

He turned in the direction the other two Stormcloaks had run off in, only to find the Falmer woman emerging from the shadows at the edge of the cavern, her twin swords bloodied and in hand. Near the edge of the cavern, he could make out the flicker of a small flame from where a dead Stormcloak had dropped his torch. It seemed the battle was over.

Leto hurried back to Avernus, who was hobbling out from his position in the mouth of the side passage they had come from. She paused to wipe her swords clean on the decorative cloth of a dead Stormcloak before sheathing them and turning to Avernus.

"Are you alright? You're not hurt?" she asked him in Falmeri.

"I should be asking _you_ that, considering you were the one doing the fighting," Avernus snorted in response, "But I'm fine. What about you?"

"I'm fine too. No injuries," she smiled back.

"I can't believe that actually worked," said Hadvar in Nordic, who had by now rejoined Avernus and Leto. "You'd be surprised how rarely things seem to go as planned. Your friend is quite the stealthy archer."

"It comes with being a Falmer, I'd imagine. It's good to see you're unharmed, by the way. Anyways, shall we?" said Avernus as he gestured towards the cavern's exit, a manmade passage on the opposite side of the room. Hadvar nodded and the three made their way out of the cavern. They came to a wooden bridge raised perpendicular to the ground on a set of hinges.

"I wonder where this leads to," Avernus heard Hadvar mutter as he pulled the lever on the ground. The bridge swung down in response, revealing more natural caves on the other side and a large hole in the cave roof above the bridge as daylight poured into the cave.

As the trio made their way across the bridge and into the caves on the other side, they heard another roar from the dragon reverberate through the caves from above, followed by a series of sounds that resembled the cracking of rocks. Suddenly, a great big chunk of rock fell from the roof and shattered the wooden bridge they had just crossed.

"Damn it. No going back that way," Hadvar remarked as he turned to look at the shattered remains of the bridge, "I guess we're lucky that didn't come down on top of us. Still, we'd better push on."

"Right," Avernus said as they continued onwards. The cave that they had just entered consisted mostly of a small underground river flowing over slippery rocks. Knowing that there was no way Avernus could safely traverse the rocky river on his own, Leto scooped him up into her arms once more and sploshed through after Hadvar.

Every time Leto picked Avernus up, he couldn't help but wonder at the situation. She carried him as easily and as cautiously as a mother carried her child, and he once more felt slightly ashamed for being so useless. But then a part of him found it funny also. Here he was, a grown man, being carried around by a woman who was as big as the average Nordic man, and who was certainly bigger than himself. _What a sight we must make._

Eventually, the cave branched off from the river and onto solid, relatively even ground. Leto set Avernus down and the group continued onwards once more. After a couple turns, the passage sloped downwards and into another large cavernous room. This one, however, had spider webs running all over the rocky walls and stalagmites that dotted the floors. Off in the distance, Avernus could see the nasty creatures scurrying about. Leto saw the creatures as well, but couldn't identify them until she caught their scent, having never seen them with her eyes before.

"Spiders," she hissed in disgust. They had stopped now, at the top of the slope and still inside the passage, but they could still most of the spider-infested room beyond. Hadvar drew his sword and turned to address Avernus and Leto.

"Any ideas on how to get past those things?" he asked. Avernus continued to observe the frostbite spiders. There were about three or four of them, and they seemed big enough to come up to a man's thigh. He noticed they were all skulking about in the middle of the room, clustered between the stalagmites, and they hadn't seemed to notice the group yet. An idea came to him.

"Yeah, I got one," he answered Hadvar as he conjured a ball of flame. He twirled it around in his hands as he dumped more energy into it, causing it to burn brighter. When he felt he had put enough energy into it, he released it. The fireball burned a bright path in the darkness of the cavern as it streaked towards the centre of the group of spiders. Upon striking the ground between them, it exploded with a brilliant flash of light and a resounding boom, igniting all the spiders in its blast radius and sending them hurtling into the rocks with high-pitched screeches.

However, just as the burning remains of the spiders came to rest, two more much larger spiders descended from the ceiling of the cave on thick strands of silk and began crawling towards the intruders. Acting quickly, Avernus conjured up a wall of flames at the mouth of the cavernous room to halt their advance and hurled two more explosive fireballs at them. He was rewarded with more pained screeches which were quickly followed by silence. He let the wall of flames die down and was rewarded with the sight of two large, motionless, burning spider corpses.

"Well, that's … definitely one way to get rid of spiders," Hadvar said in Nordic, slightly taken aback at how much fiery destruction the cripple had just caused.

"Ugh," Leto grimaced as she covered her nostrils with her fingers, "While that was certainly helpful, next time can you kill them in a way that _doesn't_ create such a horrible stench?"

"Sorry about that," Avernus said between chuckles. He could smell the scent of burning spider but while foul-smelling, wasn't particularly strong. However, with Leto's much sharper sense of smell, it must have been nigh unbearable.

With the spider threat dealt with, the group continued their advance through the caves. Through another section of winding tunnels, they entered another large cavern. The small river they had come across earlier seemed to flow through this cavern as well and passed under a natural rock footbridge that led to the other side of the room. More light streamed through another fissure in the ceiling and shone into cavern, illuminating a small corner of it. As the group crossed the rock footbridge and drew closer to the other end of the cave, they were able to make out a large, furry form seemingly asleep in the patch of sunlight at the far end.

"Hold up. There's a bear just ahead. See her?" whispered Hadvar in a cautioning tone, "I'd rather not tangle with her right now. We might be able to sneak by." Avernus nodded and found Leto staring at the sleeping creature.

"What is that?" she whispered in Falmeri, extending one long, bony, clawed finger in the bear's direction.

"That's a bear," Avernus answered, "It's a big, heavy animal and can do a lot of damage when provoked. We need to sneak by it."

"I see. But you're not exactly the most … stealthy," she remarked as she diverted her gaze towards his bad leg and improvised cane.

"No, I'm not," Avernus agreed as he looked away in shame. Leto could sense the hidden request in his words and, being careful to make as little noise as possible, picked up Avernus once more.

"I'm sorry," she heard him whisper.

"Don't be," Leto replied with a smile, "I don't mind doing this."

Once she had Avernus secure in her arms, Leto looked towards Hadvar. He was watching them in silence and waiting patiently. She gave him a single nod and he then began to sneak towards the cavern's exit, moving slowly and being careful to make as little noise as possible. Leto followed, also making sure to remain as silent as possible. It was a bit more difficult, having to carry Avernus, but only slightly more so.

They were able to sneak past the bear without waking it and made it safely to the exit. As they rounded the corner, Leto noticed the path sloped upwards, and up ahead light was streaming through, indicating an exit to the surface at last. Considering Avernus's severely limited mobility, Leto reasoned that walking up the relatively steep slope out of the cave would be difficult and decided to continue carrying him as they ascended to the surface.

Once outside, Leto set her friend down on a large rock. They seemed to have exited the cave near the top of a downward sloping path surrounded by more rocks and bushes and pine trees. Off in the distance, Leto saw a great, majestic, snow-covered mountain. The sky was a pale blue and filled with large, puffy, white clouds. Hadvar and Avernus began conversing again in the surface tongue while she continued to take in the beauty of her surroundings, marveling at sights she had never before imagined were even possible. The surface was truly a beautiful place and Leto was thankful to Avernus for restoring her sight and allowing her to experience it.

"Ready to go?" she heard Avernus ask in her own language after a few moments.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"A nearby town called Riverwood," he answered, "Hadvar's coming with us. His uncle lives there and he said he'd help us out and give us a place to stay on our way to Whiterun."

"Sounds good," Leto said as she offered Avernus her hand. He grasped it carefully slid himself off the rock. Hadvar was there and patiently waiting as always. Not knowing the proper words in his language, she simply smiled at him in thanks.

Once Avernus had righted himself on the ground and resumed his supportive stance against Leto, the trio set off down the path that led towards Riverwood.

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><p><strong>And there's the fifth chapter. Sorry it was mostly just the tutorial quest in the game, but I did try and throw in some extra things here and there, like Leto not knowing what a book is.<strong> **Thank you to everyone who's managed to read this far, and especially to those who leave reviews and add this story to their alerts/favourites list. It means a lot to me to know that people enjoy my story and I always love hearing what you think of it. Thanks again for reading this far, and if you've had even half as much fun reading this as I've had writing it, then I'll be glad. Goodbye for now and take care ^_^**


	6. Chapter VI

**Alrighty, sixth chapter's out. This chapter's mostly just retelling a scene from the game, but I've tried to throw in some originality and hopefully it's not very dull. Anyways, here it is. Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I own Leto and Avernus, nothing more. Everything else is Bethesda's. **

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><p>It was getting dark when the trio arrived at Riverwood. The sun was setting, and the sky to west was a beautiful fiery orange and the clouds were ablaze with shades of orange and pink and yellow. The eastern skies were darker shades of teal and indigo. Helgen and Riverwood weren't far apart and normally a trip between the two would take only half a day on foot, but due to Avernus's severely restricted mobility, the trip took considerably longer.<p>

Avernus and Leto were now wearing the cloaks that Leto had packed prior to their escape. Leto had her hood up and pulled low over her face, and her cloak was closed and her clawed hands were kept hidden inside in an attempt to hide her nature and thus avoid alarming the townsfolk. Her elongated, clawed feet were still uncovered and anyone close enough would be able to see through her disguise, but it was still better than no attempt at all.

Despite their efforts, however, an imperial soldier escorting a tall, mysterious, cloaked woman and her crippled half-elf companion still drew quite a bit of attention, and the trio received many stares as they wandered through the town. At least people kept their distance though, which helped Leto.

The three were currently approaching an elongated building with an extended porch area, under which sat a forge and various other pieces of equipment associated with the trade of a blacksmith. Sitting on a bench next to the building's door was a bearded, middle-aged man dressed in rough clothes and a blacksmith's apron.

"Uncle Alvor!" Hadvar called out. The man snapped his head towards the group, got up, and started walking towards them.

"Hadvar?" said Alvor in apparent disbelief, "What are you doing here? Are you on leave from – Shor's bones, what _happened_ to you, boy? Are you in some kind of trouble?" he exclaimed as he saw more clearly the dried blood and grime that caked Hadvar's uniform and exposed skin as he approached.

"Shh, Uncle, please. Uncle, keep your voice down," Hadvar pleaded, "I'm fine. But we should go inside to talk."

"What's going on? And who're these people?" the man asked as he started turning his attention towards Avernus and Leto. His eyes were already wide with surprise when he looked over Avernus, but when his gaze swept over Leto, from her long, clawed feet to the viciously feral appearance of her face, which he was close enough to be able to see from under her hood, the extent to which his eyes bugged out was nearly comical.

"By Ysmir! What've you gotten yourself involved in, boy?" he exclaimed, turning back to Hadvar.

"They're friends, Uncle. Saved my life, in fact," Hadvar explained, trying to calm Alvor down, "Come on, I'll explain everything, but we need to go inside."

"Okay, okay. Come inside then. Sigrid will get you all something to eat and you can tell me all about it," proclaimed Alvor, "You especially look like you could use something to eat," he said to Avernus.

"Thank you for your hospitality, sir," Avernus responded meekly as the group began walking to the door.

"Please, just call me Alvor," the man insisted, to which Avernus merely nodded in response as they entered the building.

The inside of the house was as typical as any village residence in Skyrim. Aside from a stone hearth, the residence was constructed almost entirely out of wood. The inside consisted of a single, large room and fur rugs covered some areas of the floor. Simple wood furniture filled the room, including two beds, a wardrobe and chest, a few cabinets, a couple tables, and several chairs. A fire was blazing in the hearth, filling the house with warmth, and there appeared to be some sort of stew cooking over it. While Avernus had grown accustomed to the types of food packed in Leto's rations, having eaten nothing else for the past two and a half years (aside from breakfast in Helgen), the thought of real, proper food set his mouth watering.

"Sigrid! We have company!" Alvor bellowed.

"Hadvar! We've been so worried about you!" came a female voice from the far side of the room. Avernus turned his head and saw the woman who must be Sigrid ascending the steps that no doubt led to the basement. She turned her head to look at Hadvar, but upon catching sight of Leto she gasped in fear and jerked in fear.

"Relax, Aunt Sigrid. They're friends. I wouldn't be here without their help," Hadvar tried to reassure the woman as he walked towards the dining table and took a seat.

"Y-yes, right," Sigrid stammered out as she tried to get over her shock. "You must be hungry. Sit down and I'll get you all something to eat," she said quietly and uncertainly as she walked towards a cabinet next to the dining table and began rummaging around.

Avernus hobbled over to the one free chair at the table and carefully eased himself into it, laying his improvised cane on the ground next to it. Seeing as how there were no more chairs at the dinner table, Leto walked across the room, grabbed a chair next to the smaller bed, and set it down next to Avernus at the table and sat down, setting her bag and weapons on the floor next to her.

"Hadvar! Hadvar!" came the voice of a small child from the basement, accompanied by the thumping of the wooden steps as said child ascended them. As the little girl came into view and caught sight of Leto, the smile on her innocent face vanished and was replaced with a look of shock, followed quickly by terror. She screamed and ran to her mother, hiding behind her dress.

"Shh, Dorthe, it's alright. She's a friend. She won't hurt you, I promise," Hadvar tried to calm her.

"I know she looks scary, but she's a really nice person. You don't have to be scared," Avernus said with a smile, trying to help out. The child peeked out from behind her mother and flinched upon seeing Avernus, but otherwise didn't react. Sigrid set the bowls she was carrying down and knelt next to her daughter.

"Shh, child. Your father and I wouldn't let anything harm you. You need to be brave," the woman said. Dorthe nodded mutely and went over to sit on her parents' bed near the hearth where she continued to stare at the strange company. Sigrid then picked up the bowls and went over to the hearth to tend to the dinner being cooked there.

Leto, meanwhile, was staring at the wood of the table, keeping her eyes down and slouching in her seat, trying to seem as small as possible. While she may not have understood the words spoken, she understood what was happening and was noticeably uncomfortable.

"Now then, boy. What's the big mystery?" Alvor asked Hadvar once the tension had settled down somewhat. "What are you doing here, looking like you lost an argument with a cave bear? And in such strange company too!"

"I don't know where to start," Hadvar began uncertainly. "You know I was assigned to General Tullius's guard. We were stopped in Helgen when we were attacked … by a dragon!"

"A _dragon?_" Alvor asked in shocked disbelief. "That's … ridiculous. You aren't drunk, are you boy?"

"Husband, let him tell his story," Sigrid chided.

"Not much more to tell," Hadvar went on. "This dragon flew over and just wrecked the whole place. Mass chaos and confusion. I don't know if anyone else got out alive. I doubt I'd have made it out myself if not for my friends here. I need to get back to Solitude and let them know what's happened. I thought you could help us out. Food, supplies, a place to stay."

"Of course! Any friend of Hadvar's is a friend of mine. I'm glad to help however I can," Alvor replied, addressing Avernus and Leto. "Forgive me; I'm afraid I didn't get your names."

"My name is Avernus, and my friend here is Leto," Avernus answered, "And thank you very much for your hospitality and aid. We appreciate it a lot."

"Not a problem. But I need your help. _We_ need your help," Alvor pleaded, "The Jarl needs to know if there's a dragon on the loose. Riverwood is defenseless. We need to get word to jarl Balgruuf in Whiterun to send whatever soldiers he can. If you'll do that for me, I'll be in your debt."

"Of course. We were already on our way to Whiterun to begin with," Avernus responded, "Although, I'm quite a bit … restricted in my mobility. I don't know if I'll be able to reach Whiterun in time."

Sigrid then returned from the hearth and began serving the bowls of stew to her family members and guests. When she finished, she took her own bowl and sat next to her daughter on the bed, politely listening to the conversation.

"That _is_ a problem," Alvor conceded after he thanked his wife for the meal. "Hmm. You know, there are caravans that pass through town occasionally and trade with the merchants. I buy ores and other raw materials from them. They're scheduled to stop by tomorrow, on their way to Whiterun. Perhaps you can get a ride with them."

"That's a good idea, but I can't imagine a group of travelling traders would be willing to burden themselves by ferrying Leto and I around the province," Avernus replied as he slowly ate the hot stew he had been given.

"Perhaps not," Alvor acknowledged, "But in the end, they're merchants. If you can offer them something in return, they might agree to take you with them. But either way, you're welcome to stay the night in our house. It's not much, but it's better than the inn"

"Thank you very much, we appreciate it," Avernus said.

"Like I said, I'm happy to help in any way I can," Alvor replied with a smile.

A lapse in the conversation followed and the occupants of the house continued to eat their meals in comfortable, if somewhat awkward, silence. Avernus had been given a very generous serving of the stew and was slowly working away at it. He doubted he'd be able to finish it all; he hadn't eaten this much food in one sitting since before he had been captured and held prisoner. The food was warm and tasted delicious, far better than the cold, preserved meats and fungi packed in Leto's rations that he had grown accustomed to, and he savoured every bite of it.

Leto meanwhile was staring at the strange liquid-y food placed before her, not quite sure how to go about eating it. She'd ask Avernus about it, but she had already scared this family's child half to death and didn't want to draw any more attention to herself than necessary. Instead, she simply watched Avernus and the others eat it. They picked up this strange instrument in their hands, which looked like a small, elongated, shallow bowl on the end of a flat shaft, dipped it in the food, and then brought the contents to their mouths. It seemed like a very strange way of eating food to Leto, but she mimicked their actions and was able to eat the strange food.

After a while of uninterrupted silence, Alvor decided to break it. "So, your friend's been awfully quiet," he remarked to Avernus.

"That's because Leto doesn't speak Nordic or any of the languages spoken in Skyrim for that matter. She only knows the language of her people," answered Avernus.

"And who _are _her people?" Sigrid asked from the bed behind Avernus, "I've never seen anyone like her before." Avernus hesitated in responding. He wasn't sure how superstitious these people were, and Leto's presence already seemed to put them on edge somewhat. He feared how they would react, but also recognized that it would be rude to ignore their question or lie about it.

"Leto is a Falmer," he answered cautiously. He heard Dorthe gasp from behind him.

"Mommy, I don't want her to eat me!" the child wailed, shattering the quiet atmosphere that permeated the house. Leto flinched at Dorthe's outburst, and Hadvar and Alvor were looking very uncomfortable, embarrassed even. Avernus turned in his chair and saw Dorthe with her arms wrapped around her mother and her head buried in her chest.

"Don't worry, Leto won't do anything of the sort. She's one of the kindest people I know, and nothing like the Falmer in the stories you've been told," Avernus tried to calm her. It appeared that his attempt produced no results, as the child kept clinging tightly to Sigrid, who was holding her back and softly murmuring words of comfort in her ear.

"I'll take her downstairs and try and calm her down," Sigrid spoke after a moment. She then stood up, picked up Dorthe, and descended the steps leading to the basement.

"I'm so sorry about that," Alvor hurriedly apologized, "We had told her the stories of Falmer, but we never actually believed they exited."

"Don't worry, it's quite understandable," Avernus replied. Having been told similar stories by his father when he came into his life by marrying his mother, Avernus understood Dorthe's reaction. Avernus was a lot older when he them for the first time and just thought they were silly, but it seemed that such was not the case with Dorthe.

He turned to Leto and noticed that she actually looked upset. She hunched over in her chair even more and never looked up from her food. Just looking at her now made Avernus upset as well. He hadn't realized how difficult living on the surface would be for Leto until now. Leto was very noticeably different from the other races of _mer_ and would face hostility and rejection from others, borne out of their own ignorance and the deep-rooted fear of the different and unknown. Avernus felt like a fool for not relaying this lesson to Leto in detail beforehand so she would be better prepared to deal with the problem. Now the child's reactions had upset Leto, and this made Avernus feel like an irresponsible ass.

"Are you alright, Leto?" Avernus asked her in Falmeri.

"She acted like I was a monster," Leto said quietly, still not looking up. It was the first thing she'd said since entering the house, and now Alvor was curiously watching the pair converse.

"She had been told ignorant fairytales that portray your people as such," explained Avernus.

"Why?" Leto asked. She really had no idea why the surface people would think of her people in such a way. As far as she knew, the Falmer didn't travel to the surface anymore, so why would such stories have been made up?

"Well, do you know that thousands and thousands of years ago, your people and humans fought a war with each other?" Avernus asked, to which Leto simply nodded. "Well, it was essentially a war of genocide and extermination, and both sides committed unspeakable atrocities against the other. Even though your people lost and were driven underground, the humans of Skyrim despised your ancestors for their war crimes, just as your people despise the surfacers. However, we haven't seen any Falmer since then, and the effects of that ancient war ceased being felt ages ago, so our hatred of your people devolved into fairytales of monsters that we tell our children. Does that make sense?"

Again, Leto just nodded in response. "Forgive me," apologized Avernus, "I should have warned you about this earlier, before we reached the surface."

"There's nothing to forgive," Leto replied, "You did mention how people would act before we left."

"Mentioning something isn't the same thing as explaining how and why it happens. I'm sorry, Leto."

"I forgive you then," she said with a small smile as she turned to look at him.

"If it'll make you feel any better," offered Avernus, "we're only staying here for one night. We're leaving for Whiterun tomorrow. Sound good?"

Leto nodded once more but otherwise didn't say anything, and the two resumed eating their meals in silence once more. Alvor, however, decided to ask Avernus something now that his conversation with Leto was finished.

"So, I'm curious. Where did you learn to speak the Falmer tongue?" he asked in Nordic, "I didn't even think they still existed anymore."

"Neither did I, actually, until I was captured," Avernus responded, "I studied at various universities and colleges across Tamriel, and one of my studies included the ancient civilization of the Falmer. I learned their language, which survived through various texts and engravings, so as to be better equipped to understand and learn about their civilization."

"That's impressive," Alvor replied, "Does that also mean you're a mage, then?"

"Yes. I studied magic as well as history," answered Avernus.

"That makes sense. I admit I didn't see how you could have helped Hadvar _without_ magic," said Alvor, "And despite what others think and say, especially in the smaller towns, I have no quarrel with you and your magic."

"Thank you, that's reassuring to know," said Avernus, well aware of how magic was viewed by the average person in Skyrim. Most of the population didn't know much about magic and were already suspicious of it. Then with the occurrence of the Oblivion Crisis at the end of the Third Era, caused entirely by a rogue cult of magic-wielding Daedra worshippers which had threatened to plunge the entire world into violent chaos and destruction at the hands of Mehrunes Dagon, that suspicion and wariness of magic turned into outright fear and distrust.

Avernus, Leto, and their hosts finished their meals in relative silence, save for the odd question directed at Avernus. Since it was already late in the day, and since Avernus was thoroughly exhausted from the escape from Helgen and subsequent trek to Riverwood, he and Leto decided to turn in for the night. Alvor had kindly offered Dorthe's bed for them to sleep in, saying that Dorthe could sleep with Sigrid and him. However, since the bed belonged to a child, it was only large enough for one person and Leto that Avernus that he could take it while she offered to sleep on the floor. Avernus felt bad for taking the bed and initially tried to argue, but Leto would have none of it and insisted that he take it. Since Avernus was still weakened from starvation, the day's events had really taken their toll on him and once he was settled in the bed, he fell asleep almost instantly.

* * *

><p>Leto woke to the sound of approaching footfalls. Alarmed, she reached for her weapons before she realized where she was. They were in one of the houses of the surfacers, she realized, not back underground in her people's caves. However, the abuse she had suffered at the hands of members of higher castes than her own back home had turned her into a light sleeper since the death of her parents, and she had been even more on edge since her and Avernus's escape, so it didn't take much to wake her lately.<p>

She sat up and looked to see Sigrid approaching with two plates of food in her hands, obviously for her and Avernus. She walked over to the table next to the bed and set them down. At this point, Leto decided she wanted to try and thank the woman. She had heard Avernus use the same words whenever an act of kindness was extended to him, so she figured that they were probably the words used to thank someone. And this woman and her husband had been very kind to give her and Avernus food and a place to sleep, even though Leto obviously terrified their daughter. It would feel wrong to not show this woman her gratitude in _some _manner, Leto thought.

"Thank you," Leto said uncertainly in thickly accented Nordic as Sigrid was walking by.

She had tried to imitate the words Avernus said, but they didn't sound quite the same. Upon hearing her speak, Sigrid stopped and looked at Leto with a look of mild surprise on her face, and Leto wondered if she had misjudged and said the wrong words entirely. How humiliating! But then Sigrid's look of surprise turned into a smile, and she nodded and said something back that Leto didn't understand before walking away to return to whatever it was she was doing before. Maybe she had said the right words after all, Leto thought.

Turning around to look at Avernus, Leto found that he was still asleep. She was about to wake him, but paused to just stare at him instead. Seeing as how he was sleeping in a child's bed, the blanket covering him was child-sized and failed to cover him completely. Leto found herself staring at his uncovered arms and lower legs. They were so thin and frail and damaged on their own, and when her gaze moved to his hands and feet, and their missing fingers and toes, Leto felt a powerful sadness come over her. He had suffered tremendously at the hands of her people and endured unimaginable, excruciating agony and pain and torture. The beatings and whippings and other harsh treatments she had received paled in comparison to what Avernus went through. It broke her heart to see evidence of such monstrously callous abuse and cruelty, and when she looked at Avernus, she longed to be able to take away the pain he still felt, a legacy of her people's cruelty.

And yet, here was Avernus now, sleeping as peacefully as a baby. They had escaped the underground caverns and ruins that her people inhabited and were on their way to Avernus's family and their home. Here _she_ was now, on the surface world, a place supposedly filled with death, destruction, and evil monsters, but in reality was just another type of environment with different people. Here she was, able to actually _see_, able to just _look_ at Avernus, something that the rest of her people were unable to do, but that everyone on the surface took for granted. All this, Leto realized, was because of the frail, broken, sleeping man in front of her. It was funny how just one person could change her life so much in the span of only a few weeks, since they had resolved to escape their underground prison.

The sound of the door opening and then closing as Sigrid left the house snapped Leto out of her reverie. Turning back to Avernus, she gently shook him awake as he had requested she do last night. It wouldn't do for him to sleep the whole day away, he had said. He slowly opened his eyes and rubbed at them with his ruined hands for a moment, before turning to look at her.

"Good morning," he said as a drowsy smile spread across his face. Leto couldn't help mirroring his expression as she greeted her friend.

"Sigrid brought us food," Leto said as Avernus began to sit up. She went over to the table and brought the two plates of food, handing one to Avernus as he sat up and carefully swung his legs over the side of the bed. She then grabbed a nearby chair, brought it over next to the bed, and sat down.

"So, you said we're leaving today for Whiterun?" she asked as she began to eat the meal Sigrid had provided, which consisted simply of meat and bread.

"We are, indeed," Avernus confirmed, "And we won't be travelling alone."

"Oh?"

"Alvor requested we warn the Jarl – the ruler of the region in which Whiterun and Riverwood lie – of the dragon attack so that he can provide protection for Riverwood," Avernus explained, "Since my mobility is severely restricted, and since it would be ridiculously unreasonable to expect you to carry me the entire way, we'll be travelling with a trade caravan in order to reach Whiterun faster. The warning won't be of any use if the dragon returns during the long time it'll take for me to walk to Whiterun on foot."

"Oh. That makes sense. But, how will they … um, react to me?" Leto asked uncertainly.

"Well, they're merchants to begin with, so I can't imagine that they'd be any more accepting of you than the average Nord here," Avernus began, "And then there's the fact that they make their living by travelling across the land in a caravan and are thus exposed to all sorts of hostile creatures, bandits, and highwaymen, so I would imagine that that would lower their disposition towards you even further."

Terrific, Leto thought. Just what they needed: even _more_ unwarranted fear and hostility.

"How are we going to get to Whiterun then, if they'd react to me so unfavourably?" she asked.

"That doesn't mean they'll refuse to take us. They're traders, businessmen. We just have to offer them something in return," Avernus countered. He thought for a moment, wondering what he could possibly exchange for transportation to Whiterun, before he was struck with an idea.

"Hey, remember those bandits that attacked us on the way to Helgen?" asked Avernus, "Check the valuables you confiscated from them. Maybe that'll be enough to buy our way to Whiterun."

Leto had actually forgotten about the loot she had taken from the dead bandits, but that seemed like a good idea. She went over to her bag, rummaged around until she found the coin purse, and returned to Avernus to hand the small bag to him. He dumped the contents out onto the bed next to him and Leto watched as his eyebrows shot up in delighted surprise. There were numerous coins, made of different metals, a few rings, and a couple pretty, coloured stones.

"Wow, those bandits were loaded," Avernus commented as he began to count the money in what must have been his native language (for Leto didn't understand the words and they sounded markedly different from the only language that she had heard surfacers use so far). Afterwards, he moved onto the stones and rings.

"Alright, we have 184 Septims, two silver rings, a silver and garnet ring, a gold ring, an amethyst, and an actual _ruby_! Hopefully that'll be enough to convince the caravan to take us on," Avernus said at last after he finished examining the contents of the coin purse.

Leto, who had been examining the valuables as well, but had no idea what they were or how much they were worth, picked up the small red stone. It was small and oblong, maybe about a third the length of her thumb. It was a bright red, brighter than Avernus's blood-red eyes, and sparkled when it caught the light in a certain way. It was a fascinating little stone, Leto thought.

"That gem is a ruby," Avernus informed her, "It's quite precious and is often used in jewelry. You can keep it if you like."

"But don't we need it to trade with the merchants?" she asked. It was a very pretty stone, and she _would_ like to keep it, but it seemed selfish of her when it could be traded for much-needed transportation.

"We probably have enough value in the money, rings, and amethyst to trade with. You can keep the ruby," Avernus said with a smile.

"Thank you, Avernus," Leto said with a smile of her own as she stared at the pretty stone for a moment longer before placing it away in a pocket.

As the two continued to eat the breakfast provided to them, Leto heard the thumping of boots on the wooden porch outside, followed by the door opening to reveal Alvor. He said several things to Avernus and then retreated outside once more.

"What was that?" Leto asked her friend.

"Alvor says the caravan's arrived," Avernus relayed, "They arrived a while ago and he inquired about our transportation. They're willing to accept us for a price. We'll have to negotiate."

"That's good they're willing to even consider," Leto said optimistically, "We probably shouldn't keep them waiting, then."

Avernus agreed and once the two finished their meals, they set about preparing to leave. Leto gathered up her weapons and satchel, and they both donned their cloaks. Avernus carefully slipped his feet back into his boots and grabbed his cane. Leto moved to support Avernus as he carefully stood and the duo made to exit the small house.

It was quite bright outside with the sun high in the sky, fast approaching its apex. Down the street, just outside the entrance to the town Leto could see a group of men and a large wagon drawn by two fascinating new animals. Avernus had told her they were called horses. That must have been the trade caravan that might take them to Whiterun, she figured, and began leading Avernus over.

As they walked, Leto saw about five men standing there, and one woman. She recognized one of them as Alvor, but the other five were unfamiliar. Two of the men and the woman were dressed in armour, she could tell, while the other two men were dressed in simple travelling clothes, like her and Avernus. She guessed those two men were the merchants and the armed and armoured men and the woman must have been for protection as they travelled.

The two men were dressed in rough type of armour seemingly made out of small metal scales attached to hardened animal hides. One of these men had a bow and quiver of arrows slung over his back and a small dagger tucked into his belt while the other man had a longsword at his side and a shield over his back. They were off conversing with each other away from the others.

The woman, whose back was turned to them at the moment as she conversed with one of the traders, was equipped in a different manner than the other two guards, Leto noticed. Rather than the light-looking scaled armour the others wore, she was completely encased from the neck down in solid, tough-looking plates of a silver-grey metal that gleamed in the sunlight. On her back was a monstrously big sword made of the same metal. The tremendous thing, no doubt, required two hands to wield and looked more than capable of cleaving right through a man.

As Leto and Avernus approached, Alvor and the merchant with whom he was conversing turned to address them. They began conversing with Avernus and as usual, Leto didn't understand a word of what was said, so instead she just remained politely silent and observed the members of the caravan in the meantime. Avernus would explain everything to her once they were done negotiating.

The other two guards dressed in light armour glanced over upon hearing Avernus bartering with the merchant and stared in curiosity for a few moments. Their gazes then turned to Leto and their curiosity changed almost immediately to shock. The one man reached for his sword, but his friend thumped him on the shoulder and spoke something to him. The man's arm went back down, but they continued to stare at Leto in suspicion. It was, of course, uncomfortable, being treated as if she were a wild beast, based solely on her appearance, but Avernus had warned her of this and she was also growing accustomed to such treatment; it was growing less and less uncomfortable and was now becoming merely annoying. But she could deal with it.

The heavily armed woman and the other merchant were about ten paces away from the others and didn't even turn to rejoin their companions when Avernus and Leto approached, so engaged in their own conversation were they.

Leto saw Avernus produce the coin purse from a pocket and hand it over to the lead merchant. He opened it up and examined the contents, before nodding with approval. He then turned his head and called to the other merchant and the woman.

As the heavily armed guard and the merchant turned and began striding over to their position, Leto heard a small, sudden intake of air come from Avernus, a gasp so faint that even _she_ had just barely heard it. When she looked at Avernus, she saw he was wearing a slightly troubled expression, but otherwise showed little emotion. What gave him away, however, were his eyes; the sunken and withered red orbs were fixed on the approaching woman, locked in a bright, piercing gaze. The only time Leto had seen him look with such intensity upon someone was back in that fort in Helgen, in the presence of the old torturer. But what was the reason for this behaviour now? That woman was just a caravan guard, wasn't she?

"What's wrong Avernus?" Leto asked quietly as she inconspicuously moved a hand over the hilt of one of her swords hidden inside her cloak, just in case.

"That girl," he said, his eyes never leaving the armoured woman, "She's my sister."

* * *

><p><strong>So there it is. Mostly a retelling of a scene from in-game, but like I said, I threw in some originality and I hope it wasn't too dull. I can guarantee you that the next chapter will be more interesting and original. <strong>

**That's right, Avernus's family is starting to come into play. On a related note. I'm debating whether or not I want to skip the whole Dragonsreach and meeting-the-Jarl thing and move onto more interesting, unfamiliar events. We're familiar with it enough and I'd like to not have this story turn into essentially a pure retelling of the main story. It'll be _following _the main story, certainly, but I don't want that to be _all._ But on the other hand, I'm not sure if I can manage cutting out that scene and skipping to more original scenes without making the story seem choppy. So what do you, my precious readers, think I should do?**

**Also, does anyone know any colourful Elder Scrolls-Universe exclamations, expletives, and/or curses? I know the basic, "Shor's bones!" and "By Ysmir!" and a couple others, but I don't wanna sound repetetive; surely there must be others that I might be missing? Anyone got any?**

**Anyways, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. I'd be ever so delighted if you care to share your thoughts with me and leave a review. And that's it for now. Take Care ^_^**


	7. Chapter VII

**So here's Chapter VII, finally. Sorry for taking a bit longer than usual, the last couple of weeks were ridiculously busy for me. i had all my midterms to write so I was busy studying frantically. And, of course, that was when my profs decided to pile on all the homework and assignments and projects and crap, more so than usual. And then after I finished everything, I went out and bought Mass Effect 3 and played the crap out of it last weekend, so I got nothing done then, too. it's a _fantastic _game, by the way. But you didn't come here to read about my life so I'll stop boring you with stuff you don't care about now. So here it is, at long last: Chapter VII**

**Oh, and I'll be impressed if anyone spots the rather clumsy reference to a folk song I threw in here. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Leto, Avernus, and several associated original characters. The rest of the masterpiece that is Skyrim belongs to Bethesda.**

* * *

><p>Avernus watched his sister and the other merchant approach. She was the second oldest sibling in the family, born eight years after Avernus, shortly after his mother married his adoptive father. How old was she now? About two and a half years had passed, so that would put her at twenty-one years of age. Just looking at her now, she seemed so <em>young<em>, as little more than a girl. She had always been interested in fighting and adventures as a little girl, and had practiced with a sword as she grew older, but to see her now as a caravan guard was surprising.

She took more after her father than their mother. She had his height and his blonde hair (currently tied back in a ponytail), his sharp, nose and broad chin, but she had their mother's brown eyes as well. There was no recognition in her eyes as she strode towards Avernus, hand in hand with the other merchant, which added to the apprehension he felt. He had been gone for two and a half years, no doubt presumed dead, and apparently he had changed so much that he wasn't even recognizable to his own sister who stood right in front of him. What does one even _say_ in such a situation? 'Hey, it's me, Avernus. Look, I'm not dead!'? While Avernus was indeed quite happy to see his sister again (they had always been close growing up), he was quite nervous also and found his hand instinctively grasping Leto's for support and comfort.

"So, what's the deal, Heinrik? Are we taking them to Whiterun?" asked the second merchant, the one who had been off with Avernus's sister. He was younger, perhaps in his mid-twenties, and was fairly typical for a Nordic man; he was big, had blond hair, blue eyes, and strong facial features. He was clean-shaven and dressed in simple travelling clothes.

"Yeah, we are. They made quite the offer. Here," replied the first merchant as he tossed the coin purse to his partner. This man was shorter than the blond merchant and unlike him, had dark hair and brown eyes, and sported a moustache and goatee.

"We're leaving in one hour, so be ready to go by then. That goes for you two as well," Heinrik said, gesturing to Avernus and Leto.

"Well that's settled then," said Alvor, who was standing next to Heinrik. "Good luck in your journey, you two."

"Thank you, again, for your hospitality and aid, Alvor. Leto and I truly appreciate everything you've done for us."

"Think nothing of it," Alvor said with a smile as he waived his hand dismissively. "May Talos guide you in your travels, friend," the smith bade them farewell, before turning and leaving for his own house. Turning back, Avernus found his sister still there, staring at him and Leto with curiosity, but not wariness, he noticed. The other merchant had gone off to help Heinrik prepare for their departure and the other two guards had long since lost interest in them.

"Hello, Magnhild," he addressed his sister in Cyrodiilic, his voice small and heavy with apprehension. She bristled and her eyebrows met in a frown, turning her curious gaze into a hostile glare.

"How do you know my name?" she demanded defensively in Cyrodiilic. Strangely enough, her response helped calm Avernus somewhat. It was such typical behaviour for his sister, skipping right past surprise, or else not showing it, and jumping straight to confused vexation. It was a familiar response and this helped soothe Avernus.

"Because you're my sister," he answered quietly.

"What are you-" she began to reply, but faltered. Avernus saw her eyes making tiny movements as they examined his every feature, and slowly he saw the light of recognition seep into them. Her mouth fell open in shock as she gasped, and Avernus recognized new emotions colouring her visage, chief among them shocked disbelief and horror.

"_Avernus?_ Is that you?" she asked in dumbfound incredulity, to which he merely nodded faintly.

"Shor's _bones_, it really _is_ you!" she exclaimed as she dashed forwards and wrapped him in a giant, crushing hug, lifting him up and sending his cane clattering to the ground. However, the sudden contact of armour plating against his pathetically weakened body was quite painful, and the abrupt force jarred his ruined leg, causing Avernus to shriek in pain.

Magnhild immediately dropped Avernus and recoiled in shock, as if she had just been slapped. Avernus would have crumpled into a painful heap on the ground if Leto hadn't reacted as fast as she had, catching him in her arms and wrapping them around him in a protective, yet supportive manner.

"By the Eight, I'm _so_ sorry!" cried Magnhild, who looked horrified and seemingly on the verge of tears. By now, they had caused quite a scene. The other two guards were staring at Magnhild and muttering conspiratorially amongst themselves. The second merchant was staring at her with a look somewhere between shock and embarrassment, and Heinrik seemed positively livid.

"What in Oblivion is going on, girl?" Heinrik demanded angrily of Magnhild in Nordic as he approached, "What did you do? Why are you harassing a client?"

"It's fine," Avernus cut in before his sister could answer. "Magnhild is my sister. We haven't seen each other in a long time and she was a bit too … enthusiastic in greeting me, that's all."

"Wait, how can you be siblings?" Heinrik asked in confusion, "You're an elf, and she's human."

"He's only half elf, Heinrik," Magnhild answered, "We share the same mother."

"Huh. Well just don't cause any more trouble," Heinrik said, having since calmed down, before he turned to help the other merchant prepare for their departure.

"Let's go sit down," Avernus suggested in Cyrodiilic to his sister, while gesturing (for Leto) to a fallen log by the merchants' wagon. Leto relinquished her tight embrace on Avernus and assisted him in limping painfully over to the log, followed by a curious Magnhild.

"So, ah, who is your … companion?" his sister uncertainly asked as they sat down.

"This is Leto," introduced Avernus, "She's a Falmer, and no, she's nothing like the Falmer in those ridiculous stories Father told us. She's a dear friend and I owe my life to her several times over."

"I see. Well in that case, pleased to meet you, Leto," Magnhild said with a smile as she extended one gauntleted hand in greeting. Leto just stared at Magnhild, gazing at her hand for a second before meeting her eyes once more, a confused look on her face. The scene brought forth a laugh from Avernus, something he hadn't done in years.

"She doesn't understand you, Hilda, so I'll have to translate if you wish to speak with her," he said, referring to his sister by her nickname. "She also probably has no idea what a handshake is, either."

Avernus then explained his sister's behaviour to Leto in Falmeri. Leto brought out one bony, clawed hand and slowly, cautiously, placed it in Magnhild's gauntleted one. The human woman then squeezed and shook her hand a couple times before letting go. Magnhild then turned her attention back to her brother with a sorrowful expression on her face.

"But what _happened _to you Avernus? Where _were_ you these past few years? You look like a corpse!"

Avernus was quiet at first. "Were you told anything?" he asked after a moment or so.

"The Imperial University sent us a letter. It said you'd gone on an expedition to some ruins and went missing. It told us you'd been gone for two months and presumed dead, and that all your earnings over the years were being delivered to Ma and Da."

"I see. I was part of a research expedition sent to study and analyze a Dwemer ruin here in southern Skyrim," explained Avernus, "We were sent specifically to search for libraries, archives, or any store of recorded information. The Dwemer were a _very_ advanced people that created many technological marvels, and their standards of living were most likely greater than many of the societies alive today. Most of Skyrim doesn't even have _plumbing_, save for a couple wealthy cities, while the Dwemer developed it independently thousands of years prior. If we could discover and decipher even just fragments of their accumulated knowledge, who knows what discoveries and advances our civilizations could make. Since I've studied the Dwemer civilizations and learned their language, I was an obvious choice for the expedition."

"The ruins we were sent to were located in the foothills of the Jerall Mountains. It was a large system of artificial caverns and buildings built into the cave walls. Since it was so large, we assumed it must have been a relatively important city for the Dwemer, which would mean that it likely had the stores of knowledge and information that we were seeking."

"However, it connected to a natural system of caverns even further below. These natural caverns were filled with the remnants of the Snow Elves who, contrary to what even most scholars thought true, survived their genocidal war with the ancient Nordic humans. A group of Falmer ambushed our expedition and killed all our guards. Some of our scholars were killed also, but the rest were dragged down to their lair and briefly interrogated before being executed."

"I was kept alive because I could speak their language. They interrogated me for information on the surface world and the people that inhabit it. Afterwards, I was kept and … tortured. And starved. For what reason, I don't know. Entertainment, probably. I … don't wish to go into specifics."

"Can I … can I see?" Magnhild asked uncertainly, a look of horror mixed with a strange curiosity on her face. Avernus nodded and held out his three-fingered right hand. Magnhild removed her gauntlets and grasped the remains of his hand in her own.

She stared with her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open in silent horror as she examined his ruined hand. She noted how he only had two fingers and a thumb left and how there was even a section of the actual _hand_ cut out! She noticed how gnarled and knobby his hand and fingers were, as if all the bones had been deliberately broken, allowed to heal, then broken some more. She noticed the thin, white scars and the thin, discoloured burn marks that twisted in gruesomely beautiful patterns that ran along his hand and disappeared up his sleeve.

Curious, Magnhild pushed his sleeve up, revealing Avernus's forearm and most of his upper arm. The limb was disgustingly thin and looked like a skeleton's arm wrapped in a thin covering of only skin since there was so _little_ muscle. And again, Magnhild noticed the intricate patterns of abuse and torture twisting along his entire arm, up and up, disappearing once more under Avernus's sleeve. She turned his arm over and found even more scars and long, narrow burns travelling along the underside of the limb. Magnhild could only imagine how much pain her brother must have gone through having such patterns cut and burned into his flesh, as if he were a living canvas for some sick, disturbed artist. Her horror grew with each second she stared at the marks.

"They run all over," Avernus said quietly, and indeed, she could see marks running along the skin out from underneath his shirt collar, twisting and winding up his neck and over his jaw and cheeks, reaching dangerously close to his haunted, sunken eyes.

"I'm _so_ sorry, Avernus," said Magnhild, letting go of Avernus's arm and meeting his eyes once more. To her surprise, he snorted in amusement.

"It's not like _you_ did this to me," he said with a chuckle. "But thanks anyway. I appreciate the sentiment."

"So how did you escape?" Magnhild asked with curiosity.

"Like I said, I owe my life to Leto," Avernus began, "She got the job of keeping me alive after my last caretaker was killed in some sort of inter-tribal warfare. Since she belonged to a low caste in Falmer society, she got kicked around and abused a lot, so she didn't like it down there either. We resolved to escape together. She switched out my poisoned water, which kept me from using my magic, for clean water and gathered supplies. Then when the time was right, she sprung me from my cell and over the next couple days, we travelled through the caves to the surface. We were making our way to Mother and the family in Whiterun, and ended up here along the way."

"Then I'll come home with you," Magnhild proclaimed, "I want to be there when you arrive home. Ma will be so happy to see you again. She took it quite hard when the letter arrived. Everyone did, but her especially."

Avernus looked away, once more feeling guilt well up inside him. "I see," he said, "But don't you have commitments to this caravan?"

"Avernus, from my and the rest of the family's point of view, you've basically just come back from the dead. I'm damn well gonna spend time with my family and if Heinrik doesn't like, then damn him to Oblivion." That coaxed forth a smile from Avernus. His had always admired his sister's boldness, perhaps because he wasn't like that himself, and it was comforting to see his sister like this again. Her blunt attitude was a familiar presence and provided a certain stability to his situation, chipping away at the uncertainty.

"And besides," Magnhild continued, "I'm sure I can convince Villemann to agree to let me stay home for a bit. I can catch up with them next time they come around to Whiterun."

"Is he the other merchant you were with?" asked Avernus.

"Yes," she answered.

"Well, you two seem quite close," remarked Avernus, to which Magnhild snorted in amusement.

"That's because I love him," she stated cheerfully.

"Oh?"

"And he loves me," Magnhild went on, and Avernus had to suppress a laugh at the dopey smile forming on his sister's face.

"So when did this happen? What's he like?" Avernus asked.

"Curious, are we?" his sister teased.

"Of course," Avernus laughed, "It seems I've missed out on a lot since I disappeared. You have to update me, Hilda."

"True, a lot _has_ happened since then," Magnhild responded, "So, I met him about a year after you disappeared. I wanted to travel and see the rest of Skyrim, but I also needed to make money, so I joined this caravan and got hired as a guard. That's how I met Villemann."

"Vill was quite friendly and he'd talk to me and make me feel like my presence was actually appreciated, unlike that grumpy old man, Heinrik. We would just talk a lot, about anything, really: our families, the caravan, his travels, and sometimes just random things. We started spending more of our free time together and eventually got into a relationship."

"I see, but what's he like?" asked Avernus.

"Well, he's not a greedy bastard, which is more than I can say about most merchants," Magnhild joked, "He's calm and quiet, but friendly. He's a sharp businessman too, though that's kind of obvious since he's a merchant. And he's a musician too!"

"Not a bard?" asked Avernus.

"Nope, a musician," stressed Magnhild, "He focuses more on the music than the poetry, and he plays for more than just to entertain others and for coin, that's the difference."

"What does he play?" asked Avernus.

"A kind of harp," answered Magnhild, "He learned from his parents and then later went to the Bard's College to formally study music, before becoming a merchant. "

"Oh, he plays so _beautifully_, Avernus," Magnhild went on, he eyes glazing over somewhat. "You should hear him play, it's almost magical. When he plays, it's as if … as if the whole rest of the world disappears and all your troubles vanish. There's just him and his music, and you lose yourself in it. Nothing else matters anymore at that moment, not where you are, or who your company is, or anything; Vill and his music become the centre of your world. He plays so wonderfully, Avernus, I swear he could charm a troll if he tried."

Avernus had never heard his sister talk or act like this before. The words she used, how she described him, the far-away look on her face as she spoke were all new to Avernus coming from his sister. Never had he seen her talk about someone with such passion before, and with language that was such a departure from her usual blunt attitude. It was obvious that he she cared a lot for the man.

"And I'd be lying if said it wasn't also a bit arousing," she said with a lewd grin.

_Now that's more like her,_ Avernus thought with a chuckle. "You really do love him, then, don't you?"

"More than anything," his sister replied.

"And he feels the same?"

"He does, without a doubt."

"Then I'm happy for you," said Avernus with a smile.

"Thanks, Avernus," said Magnhild as she reached over a hugged her brother.

"You're all grown up, now it seems," Avernus mused, "Gods I've missed out on a lot, haven't I?"

"Yeah, kind of. But we'll fix that when we get home," replied Magnhild optimistically, "Anyways, I should go help with getting ready to leave."

"Of course. It's really great to see you again, Hilda," Avernus said sincerely.

"And it's really great to know you're not dead," his sister replied lightly, "Anyways, we can catch up more once we get going." Magnhild then got up and strode away, towards the two tradesmen, who could be seen moving crates and barrels, and loading them into their wagon.

While Avernus knew he'd been gone for a long time, his reunion with Magnhild really drove it home. So much had changed for her since he disappeared. She was no longer living at home anymore; she had a job now, one that took her all over Skyrim; she`d developed a relationship with a man whom she cares for dearly. She seemed much more grown up now than two and a half years ago. And yet, she was still the same person. It made him wonder how much his other siblings had changed, how much they`d grown up since he was captured.

Avernus was distracted from his thoughts when Leto grasped his left hand in her own and began to gently stroke it with the other. Back in his cell underground, he had noticed that Leto would often establish some sort of physical contact between them as they spoke. When he asked her about it, she got confused; she said all her people often touched each other, and that the idea that this wasn't the case with Avernus's people seemed quite strange to her. Avernus assumed that because the Falmer had no vision, their other senses were relied on and employed much more frequently in social situations. Perhaps holding his hand or stroking his arm or other similar touches was the Falmer equivalent of eye contact. Vision was quite new to her, after all, and the customs associated with it – like eye contact and not staring at people and so on – would have been unknown to her.

"Your sister seems nice," said Leto in Falmeri, "And less distrustful of me than other surfacers."

"Well to be fair," said Avernus, "We've only come across people from small towns with relatively homogenous Nordic populations and little daily contact with outsiders. But my mother and grandparents are immigrants to Skyrim so my siblings and I grew up in a predominantly Cyrodiilic household, not a Nordic one. Since we come from a different society from the one we live in, it makes sense that she's not as likely to judge you based on petty appearances, doesn't it?"

"I see," said Leto as she continued to stroke his hand, "That makes sense. What did you talk about?"

"We were just catching up a little," Avernus answered her, "I've missed out on a lot since I was captured. Magnhild told me a little of what she's been doing since then."

"Oh. She seemed happy to see you. I'm glad you have such a good family," said Leto with a smile.

"So am I. Despite the eight-year gap in age difference between us, she`s my closest sibling in terms of age and we`ve always been close."

"These large age differences between you and your siblings, are they because of, um … how you were … conceived?" Leto asked uncertainly. "I'm sorry, that was probably rude of me to ask. Never mind."

"No, don't worry, it's not rude; you need not apologize for your curiosity," Avernus assured her.

"But yes, that's the reason why. The age difference between my youngest siblings and I is less than the difference between me and my own mother, actually. We're certainly a strange family," Avernus noted with a laugh.

"But, an interesting one," Leto added.

"That too, I suppose."

"So what's happening now?" she asked, changing the subject

"Now we're just waiting for the merchants to get ready to depart. Then we'll be on our way to Whiterun, which should take about two days."

"Will there be more bandits on the road?" Leto asked. The group of men that had ambushed them on their way to Helgen and shot Avernus was still fresh in her mind.

"Well apparently, Skyrim is involved in a civil war. It's an imperial province of the Third Cyrodiilic Empire, but a separatist faction calling themselves the Stormcloaks are fighting for independence and waging a guerilla war against the Imperial legions. The merchants say that the war's caused a fair amount of instability in the province and brigandry and bandit activity has increased across the province as a result, so we should expect an attack, just in case."

"Why do these Stormcloaks want independence?" asked Leto.

"I don't know yet," replied Avernus, "This Stormcloak rebellion started while I was still being held captive by your people. All I know is that they want independence, but aside from that, you know as much as I do."

"I see," she said quietly as her one hand rose higher to caress his forearm, "I'm sorry, Avernus. I'll be more alert and keep you safe this time. I promise."

"Leto it's … don't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault," said Avernus, faltering a little as Leto's touch sent pleasant chills running up his arm.

"But it _was_," she insisted, her grip on his hand tightening slightly, "I could smell them, I knew they were there. I should have reacted faster. Please forgive me."

"Even so, you had no way of knowing their intentions. There is nothing to forgive, Leto," Avernus said as he met her eyes with a smile.

"Thank you, but I'll still be more careful," she said.

"It's alright, Leto," Avernus responded, "Besides, we have more people watching out for such threats now. I doubt we'll get surprised like that again."

"Maybe not, then," Leto acquiesced after a moment.

Leto was still stroking his hand and forearm, Avernus noticed. However, as much as Avernus enjoyed the contact, it was also slightly disquieting. They were no longer among the Falmer, and in Nordic society, such touching took on entirely different meanings. Something as simple as Leto holding his hand might be viewed as a sign of a romantic bond between the two, which was certainly not the case. Leto was already treated with distrust and suspicion by most people as it is; it wouldn't do to give out the wrong impression and contribute to the already present misunderstandings and prejudices.

Yet, Avernus couldn't bring himself to dislodge Leto's hand. For one thing, he enjoyed the contact. For another, Leto wouldn't understand why he would do this since he hadn't explained it to her, and it might hurt her feelings, which was unacceptable.

_Wait, what? _Had he really just used that particular term? He of course wouldn't want to appear rude or offend his friends, but to view hurting Leto's feeling as _unacceptable_ was a bit extreme in its magnitude, wasn't it?

Avernus's thoughts wandered and as he looked upon Leto once more, who was gazing at the trees and mountains that surrounded Riverwood but still holding his hand and stroking it with her thumb now, he felt a familiar feeling creep up on him; it was that same odd attraction he had felt in Eir's house in Helgen.

Again, Avernus was alarmed. It wasn't really attraction, was it? How could it be? By surface standards, Leto would be considered quite ugly if not outright frightening. He turned his head to examine her while she was looking away, as a sort of test.

As he continued to examine her, he was drawn to the subtleties of her head and face. Her chin was somewhat pointed, he noticed. Her jaw was fairly narrow and had a larger, more obtuse sloping angle, her orbitals were large and fairly rounded and her cheekbones were delicate and soft. Leto's cranial features were undeniably feminine. While her sharp teeth were currently hidden, Avernus could still see her claws and her rather distinct nose, or rather the structure of her face that was homologous to a nose. As he stared, he found that he actually _wasn't_ repulsed by these features, not even on a primitive, instinctual level, and they did nothing to lessen that strange attraction he felt. If anything, he was fascinated by the contrast between these sharp features and her feminine cranial anatomy, and it added to her allure.

Yes, he _was _attracted to Leto, Avernus realized. When did this happen, he wondered. Had he developed some strange form of Stockholm Syndrome? This was _not_ supposed to happen. Leto was from a different race, a different culture, and a different society. Surely this was not normal.

_So? When have you ever been normal, Avernus?_ The treacherous thought arose unbidden from the darker depths of his mind. He was right, though; he had _never_ been normal. First off, he was a human-elf hybrid, which was already fairly unusual in and of itself. He lived in Skyrim, but grew up in a Cyrodiilic household with an immigrant mother and grandparents. He'd been interested in magic and history ever since he was little, and showed no interest in swordplay, or fighting, or adventures or other such activities considered to be quintessentially Nordic. Even at the College of Winterhold, he was abnormal seeing as how he'd set the record for the youngest student to join the institution at sixteen years of age. No, he'd never been normal. Why start now?

_Why am I even thinking about this in the first place_, he wondered. He'd just escaped from years of starvation and torture. He had more important things to worry about, like recovering from his treatment and making it home in one piece, not to mention picking up the pieces of his career so he could return to living independently. But then again, he was permanently crippled now, which already cuts back on his independence, as evidenced by Leto helping him walk long distances and carrying him around like a baby whenever they have to move quickly. Yes, he had more important things to worry about.

With not inconsiderable mental effort, Avernus shoved these thoughts aside and turned to face the waggon, where he could see the merchants and guardsmen loading up crates and barrels. There were only a couple left, and once the last crate had been loaded up, Avernus saw Heinrik start to make his way towards him and Leto.

"Right, we're pretty much done packing so we'll be heading out in a couple minutes," he informed Avernus as he approached. Avernus noticed the man's gaze linger briefly on Leto's hands, which were still stroking his own, before he continued speaking. "Since you can't walk properly, you'll be sitting next to me while I drive the wagon. Now let's go."

"Of course, and thank you again for your generosity," Avernus politely replied. Heinrik's only response was a grunt before he turned to head back to the wagon.

"We're leaving," he told Leto in Falmeri as he reached for his cane and attempted to haul himself up. Leto was quicker, though, and gently pulled him to his feet. Once up, they made their way over to the wagon with Leto supporting Avernus once more, even though he didn't really need it since the wagon was so close.

As they approached, they saw that Heinrik was already seated on the driver's bench of the wagon, while Villemann, Magnhild, and the other two guards were standing around and conversing, waiting for Avernus and Leto.

"Can you help me up, Leto?" Avernus asked of her as he gestured to the seat of the wagon.

"Of course," she replied. Avernus felt her strong hands grab him under his arms, lift him up with little effort, and set him gently down next to Heinrik.

"All set?" asked Heinrik. Avernus nodded in response.

"Good." Heinrik cracked the whips and the caravan set out, slowly leaving the town of Riverwood behind them.

* * *

><p><strong>And there's the seventh chapter. I'll make the next one more exciting, I promise. I'll throw in some more action and fights, since we're kind of overdue. <strong>

**Also, **** not about my choice of the term Stockholm Syndrome: I'm aware that, since it's named after a city that exists in the real world, but not in the world of Skyrim, it sounds a bit silly. However, I can't think of any other synonymous term for it, and to make up an analagous name for it, like "Solitude Syndrome" would just sound weird and/or stupid, and would require an explanation, since you you'd have no idea what I meant. So I hope this doesn't bother you too much, and that you can agree with my reasoning.**

**By the** **way,**** for those of you who didn't catch it, the song I was referring to is an old Norwegian folk song called Villemann og Magnhild. The only decent translation of the song into English that I can find on the internet is in the description of this youtube video of Storm's interpretation of the song (Storm is a Norwegian folk metal band):**

**www . youtube . com/watch?v=Gu3TAuw3ZJ8 (remove spaces)**

**You should at least read the translated lyrics to catch the full extent of my crude reference. Well, if you care to in the first place, that is. However, I prefer in Extremo's somewhat modified version of the song over Storm's version (It's the bagpipes :D And yes, I'm well aware I have really weird taste in music :P )**

**www . youtube . com/watch?v=8lCDpHNspn0&feature=watch_response (remove spaces)**

**Anyways, that's all for now. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and hopefully the next chapter won't take as long. Until next time, take care ^_^  
><strong>


	8. Chapter VIII

**Alright, here's Chapter VIII. Finally. Sorry it took almost two months. I had part of it written up, then I decided it was crap, scrapped it, and started over. I got about a third of the way through and then final exams came and I didn't touch this for weeks, but now it's finally up and it's the longest chapter I've written to date. Perhaps that'll make up for my delay. Or perhaps not, you decide.**

**Another thing: I talked about the magical runes from the game in here a little bit. In this chapter, I refer to them as glyphs. The Nords of the Elder Scrolls universe and their history and culture seem to be based off the old Scandinavian people in the real world, like the Norse and the Anglo-Saxons (before they became the English). The writing these people used were called runic scripts (the individual characters were called runes). Since Avernus plans to teach Leto how to read and write, I thought it would make sense to have the alphabet of the Nords of Skyrim be a runic script (game lore doesn't address this at all, so I'm taking liberties). As such, I thought it would be confusing to refer to the magical traps as runes as well, so I called them glyphs, so that's what I mean when you see the word "glyph."  
><strong>

**Disclaimer: Elder Scrolls belongs to Bethesda, Leto and Avernus are mine. Blahblahblah.  
><strong>

**Now on to the story!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Avernus was so tired from the events of the last several days that he slept for a good portion of the first day. While he had probably eaten more in the last several days than he had in a month of captivity, he was still very emaciated and had only just barely begun to recover from the treatment he was subjected to underground. Furthermore, as if being starved nearly to death wasn't enough, he was crippled and couldn't even walk without either a cane, or Leto, and after several days of seemingly endless walking, he was aching and tired, and had passed out shortly after the caravan set out from Riverwood.<p>

Leto, however, didn't have the luxury of climbing in the wagon and sleeping the rest of the way to Whiterun. As Avernus slept, she remained ever alert and vigilant as she marched along next to Avernus's sister and the other guards and merchant.

She felt out of place amongst the crew of the caravan, being from a race most surfacers considered as monsters, and this made her feel somewhat uncomfortable. On top of this, since Avernus was asleep now, she had no way of communicating with the rest of her company. She wasn't _too _concerned however;she didn't really _need_ to talk to the rest of them, just follow them and help them deal with any potential threats along the way.

Leto found herself walking ahead of Avernus's sister and the one merchant, but behind the other two guards, and could hear each pair having their own conversations, in the first, rougher-sounding language she had heard Avernus use. She currently had no way of knowing what they were saying, but she didn't particularly care at the moment either.

It was warmer with the sunlight out, and she didn't have to remain inconspicuous, so she had removed her cloak and placed it in her bag, which she had thrown in the back of the wagon. She was now dressed in only trousers and a light, short-sleeved shirt. She could _feel_ the sun on her bare skin now, and it was such a _wonderful_ feeling, one she had never got to experience back underground. It warmed her, almost like a fire, except it was more gradual and even, and not as harsh as an open flame. It was a wonderful feeling and Leto found herself wondering what it would be like to simply lie naked under the sun on a bright day, to feel its gentle and relaxing warmth all over her body, utterly relaxed. It was an appealing thought.

Leto truly appreciated small things like these. Whenever life seemed unbearable and miserable, as if the whole world was against her, she would focus on simple pleasures like these, and it almost always helped. And the surface was _full_ of simple things like these. The feel of sunlight on her skin, the sight of all the new forms of life, all the different scents and smells of the plants and environment, they were all so new and beautiful to her. To think that she had lived in a _cave_ for almost all of her life, deep underground and lacking such a variety of experiences as was found on the surface. The radically different and more diverse environment t of the surface alone was well worth trouble she had gone through with Avernus to escape.

The going was relaxed and comfortable as they made their way through the lightly forested area, and Leto's long legs allowed her to maintain a leisurely pace. Despite Avernus's warning that banditry had apparently increased lately, for a long while Leto didn't detect any bandits following the group or waiting to ambush them. The only other people she saw were the occasional travellers headed for Riverwood. It was actually kind of boring, Leto thought. Hours passed without any sign of threats along the way and Avernus continued to sleep. She didn't blame him, of course, but with him asleep, there was no one for her to talk to.

As Leto walked, her thoughts drifted to Avernus. She came to the realization that even though he depended on her for such basic things as mobility, support, and protection, she too depended on him. She depended _entirely_ on him for communication with basically everyone else on the surface. How could she survive if she couldn't even communicate with others? She wondered if he would teach her the languages of the surface world.

Leto's thoughts wandered. She realized that he already said he was going to teach her how to read and write, and he was providing hospitality by taking her to his home and family, and now she wanted to ask him to teach her languages as well. What was she providing in return? Protection and support with mobility, she knew, but he didn't rely on her for these as much as she relied on him for communication and shelter. Was this selfish of her, she wondered, to ask for so much from him while giving comparatively little?

After what seemed like an eternity of walking, when the sun was beginning to fall, setting the sky ablaze in pink and orange light, Avernus finally awoke. He yawned and numerous clicks and cracks sounded as he stretched his abused body.

"Hello, Avernus," Leto said cheerfully, "Sleep well?"

"Mmm. Hi, Leto. I did," he said with a drowsy smile.

"I missed you."

"You did?"

"_Of_ _course._ There was no one to talk to while you were asleep," Leto explained lightly. That earned her a laugh from Avernus, which caused her to smile in turn. Leto saw the merchant driving the wagon next to Avernus glance towards her briefly before turning his attention back to the road.

"So how are you feeling?" Leto asked.

"A bit sore, but it's certainly nothing to complain about. You doing alright? Besides being bored, that is?" Avernus asked with a chuckle.

"I'm fine, Avernus," Leto laughed back, "But I was wondering something."

"Oh?"

"Could you, um, teach me the surface languages?" Leto asked uncertainly.

"I'd be happy to," Avernus responded, "As soon as we get home I can begin teaching you. It'd be easier, I think, if you learned how to read and write at the same time."

"Thank you so much, Avernus!"

"Think nothing of it, Leto," he replied with a smile, "If you're living on the surface, then you'll have to learn the languages at some point so you can be more independent. I'm sure you'd get tired of having to have everything translated for you."

"That's true," Leto agreed, "I never thought about this when we were back underground. I really appreciate you translating everything for me."

"I'm happy to help."

"That's the other thing," Leto said with a sigh, "You keep helping me. You're giving me a place to stay, you're teaching me how to read, how to write, and you're teaching me languages now. It feels like … I don't know, like I just keep _taking_ from you without _giving_ anything in return. Is that selfish of me?"

"Not at all, Leto," Avernus replied, "Like I said, you _need_ these skills in order to get by on the surface. It's not so much that you're taking from me, but more like me giving you what you need to get by. And I don`t view teaching you as merely a burdensome task that needs doing either. I`m happy to help you in any way I can, Leto."

"I feel like a child," Leto continued, "I'm helpless on my own and I need you to teach me everything all over again, like how to speak, how to behave, what the people on the surface are like, what their customs are and so on. I feel like a little girl all over again."

Avernus was silent for a few moments as he contemplated her words and thought of how he could respond. "Think of it this way, Leto," he said eventually, "While I was still being held captive by your people, I was as weak and helpless as a small child. I didn't know why I was kept and I depended on others for my survival just as much as you depend on me now. You kept me alive; you cared for me and showed me kindness, and when we escaped you assisted me physically and you protected me. I wouldn't be here now if it wasn't for you, Leto. Now it's my turn to care for you in my own way, and I will _happily_ return the favour."

"Thank you, Avernus," Leto said quietly after a moment of thought, "I really appreciate everything you're doing for me."

"Think nothing of it," he responded cheerily.

For the next couple of hours, Avernus and Leto discussed lighter topics. Leto inquired about Skyrim, its people, and its customs, and Avernus did his best to answer her questions. While they had discussed the surface world before, while Avernus was still a prisoner of Leto's people, they discussed it only in broad, general terms. Before, Avernus had told Leto of all the different types of societies and cultures on the surface, and focused on how they differed from what he knew of her people. Now, they discussed Skyrim and Nordic culture specifically, covering such topics as history, customs and traditions, religion and beliefs, political structure, and demographics.

Leto was especially interested in the demographics. She found it fascinating how many different peoples lived in one place generally considered to be the ancestral home of only one of those peoples. It was a new and exciting concept to her, since she came from a homogenous society composed almost entirely of Falmer. Sure, her people kept slaves from the surface, but they were assimilated into the Falmer culture and carried no cultural identities of their own. She had mentioned this to Avernus, actually, and he had wondered how slaves from the surface would lose their cultural identity. She explained to him that in her society, most of the slaves were born into slavery rather than captured. This meant that slaves grew up and were socialized into Falmer society and had no contact with surface societies in their lives. In this sense, they were Falmer rather than surfacers.

As the discussion continued, Leto found out that Avernus was not actually a native-born citizen of Skyrim. She learned that he had been born in a place called the Imperial City in Cyrodiil, the capital of both the Fourth Empire, of which Skyrim was a part, as well as the province of Cyrodiil itself, and moved to Skyrim with his mother and grandparents when he was about 2 years old. Upon asking why Avernus had moved to Skyrim, he had explained that his family fled north to escape a war.

Avernus explained that, at the time, the Empire was at war with a state called the Aldmeri Dominion. Leto learned that the Aldmeri Dominion was a state governed by a group known as the Thalmor, and made up of mostly elves that believed themselves to be the rightful rulers of Tamriel, the continent that the Empire and Dominion shared. Eventually, war broke out between the elven Dominion and the human Empire and the Dominion pushed deep into Imperial territory. As the elves pushed farther inwards and drew ever closer to the Imperial City, Avernus' grandparents feared for their safety, Avernus explained, and rightly so. They sold their shop, their house, and most of their belongings, and used the money to flee north to Skyrim, far away from the reach of the Dominion. Less than a year later, the Imperial City fell to the Dominion, who inflicted many atrocities upon its population. When Leto asked for clarification, she was told that the Aldmeri armies looted, pillaged, raped, and murdered, and even shipped some people back to their homelands as slaves. Leto was, needless to say, appalled.

Avernus had concluded his brief history of the Great War by explaining to Leto that the Dominion forces were eventually destroyed, the Empire's territory was regained, and a shaky peace brought about through the signing of a treaty. Returning to the subject of his family and their origins, he explained that by the time the war had ended, his family had already re-established themselves in Skyrim and by the time his mother married and gave birth to Magnhild, the eldest of Avernus's (half) siblings, they had been well adjusted to their new home, having lived in Skyrim for years now.

Avernus's origins were very fascinating, Leto thought, and she liked how she learned about some of the history of the surface from his origins. Though Leto was appalled by the actions of the Aldmeri Dominion, as they reminded her of some of the attitudes of her own people and how that led them to commit such acts of cruelty as were done to Avernus as well as the other slaves, the history itself was still interesting. While Avernus told her the stories of his origins and some of the history of the surface, night had slowly crept up on the travelling caravan and by the time Avernus finished his tale, the sun had set completely, shrouding the sky in an inky darkness punctuated by the tiny pin-pricks of starlight.

Leto heard Heinrik start barking orders from his seat on the wagon. He then drove the wagon off the road, followed by the two guards, Magnhild, and the other merchant. Once the group was a little ways away from the road, Heinrik stopped the wagon and dismounted. He was soon joined by the others as he started to release the horses from their yokes.

"We're stopping for the night," Avernus informed her, "We'll continue to Whiterun in the morning. Heinrik says that at our current rate, we should be there by mid-afternoon tomorrow."

Leto nodded as she reached for Avernus, grabbing him gently, lifting him from the wagon and setting him down carefully on the ground. While Heinrik and the other merchant tended to the two horses, Magnhild and the other two guards cleared the area of any debris, obviously preparing to set camp.

"So," Avernus began, catching her attention, "I'm going to test out some of my magic. See if I can still manipulate it. Would you like to see?"

"Sure," Leto responded. Magic had always fascinated her, and Avernus seemed to know so _much_ of it, more than any of her people knew. She wondered what he would do with it now.

"Follow me, then," he said as he began limping over to a spot a short distance outside the circular area that Magnhild and the others were clearing. He walked over to a relatively empty patch of dirt with not much else in it. Then, much to Leto's curiosity, he began drawing designs in it with his improvised metal cane.

First, he scratched a circle into the dirt about three feet or so in diameter, followed by a series of complex, intricate lines inside the circle. Occasionally he'd pause briefly, as if trying to remember something, before continuing. After several minutes, he finished. Following the completion of his strange dirt-drawing, he then held a hand out over it and Leto watched with great interest as some sort of magical energy flowed from his hand into the circular drawing. Once this was finished, Leto noticed certain lines of the drawing actually began to ever-so-faintly _glow_.

"What is this?" she asked.

"This is a glyph," explained Avernus, "It's like a magical trap. Certain lines, if positioned correctly, hold magical energy, and other lines, when joined to these power-holding lines, shape the energy in certain ways so as to create a useful effect out of it."

"What does this one do?" Leto asked.

"This is a type of incendiary glyph," answered Avernus, "When the lines are disturbed and broken, usually the by someone stepping on it, then the effect is activated. In this case, an explosive fireball is released. Due to the nature of glyphs, they're used almost entirely for defense."

"Wow. I never imagined you could do such things with magic," said Leto.

"That's the thing about magic that's fascinated me so much," Avernus responded, "It's wonderfully diverse, and there's always something more to learn, or even to discover. I'll show you the effects of this glyph, but I want to show Heinrik as well. Maybe we can put some up around camp for defense. I'd rather not have a repeat of our encounter with bandits on the way to Helgen."

"No, that definitely wouldn't be good," agreed Leto.

Assisted by Leto, Avernus started limping away from the glyph and back to the edge of the campsite, which wasn't very far away, but far enough to lie well outside the blast radius of the glyph. Heinrik, Magnhild, and the other merchant were busy taking out and setting up gear from the wagon. They pulled out some crates, a couple poles, some sheets of canvas for setting up tents, as well as several bedrolls. The other two guards, however, were nowhere to be seen. Perhaps they were scouting the area for potential threats, or looking for firewood or something.

"Heinrik, Villemann, Magnhild!" Avernus called out. Their respective heads each turned to him in acknowledgement. "I want to show you something," he said in Nordic.

"What is it?" Heinrik asked gruffly as he approached. He was followed by Villemann and Magnhild.

"You'll see," said Avernus, before turning to Leto. "How good is your aim when throwing things? Say, for instance, that rock," he asked her in Falmeri as he gestured to a medium-sized rock by her feet, about half the size of his head.

"Fairly good," she responded, "Why do you ask?"

"Throw that rock at the glyph when I say," Avernus instructed. Leto complied and stooped to pick up the rock.

"Watch," Avernus bade everyone else in Nordic, before turning to face Leto and nodding once.

Leto proceeded to hurl the rock at the glyph Avernus had inscribed, crudely mimicking a footfall and thus setting off the trap. As the rock struck the earth the glyph had been inscribed on, a bright, orange explosion of flames blasted forth from the ground with a satisfying _bang, _lighting up the area like a flare and radiating outwards briefly before dissipating as quickly as it was summoned, a residual wave of heat washing over the assembled party.

"_Nice trick!"_ Magnhild exclaimed, clearly impressed.

"By Ysmir!" shouted Heinrik in shock. Avernus turned to see similar expressions of surprise on the faces of his sister and Villemann.

"You never told us you were a mage, elf," Heinrik cried accusingly.

"You never asked," Avernus retorted, "Besides, I fail to see why my knowledge of the magical arts should have any impact on our arrangement. I wanted to show you this type of magic because I thought it might prove useful as defense against bandits or predatory animals while we sleep."

"You know, Heinrik, I don't really see the problem," Villemann interjected, "That kind of magic _would_ come in handy. Why shouldn't we take him up on the offer?"

"Because it's dangerous," Heinrik exclaimed, "What if it backfires and blows _us_ up instead of the bandits or wild animals?"

"That _is_ a danger, I'll grant you that, but you must think about this logically," replied Avernus, "This type of magic is known as a glyph, and activates when the lines of the glyph are disturbed. True, it could detonate when we step on it, since the glyph isn't aware and doesn't differentiate between friend and foe. But why would we ever step on the glyphs? Firstly, we know where they'll be placed, so we can avoid them, and secondly, when we're sleeping, we won't be moving around anyways, so wouldn't you agree that the chances of the glyphs harming us are remote? Wouldn't you agree, then, that placement of such glyphs around the campsite would be beneficial?"

"I suppose you're right," Heinrik admitted after pondering over Avernus's arguments. "Fine, you can put up your magic traps. Just be careful about it, and _show us_ where you put them." With that, Heinrik turned and stalked back off to continue whatever it was he was doing before Avernus called him over.

"Sorry about Heinrik," Villemann apologized in his stead, "He gets like that around magic. We had a run-in with a bandit gang a couple years back. They had a hedge-wizard with them, and he took out one of our best guards before he was killed. Heinrik's been distrustful of magic ever since."

"I see," replied Avernus, "But it's alright. A general distrust of magic sadly isn't uncommon and it's something I've dealt with before."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Anyways, I should get back to helping Heinrik. Thanks for offering to help out with your magic," Villemann said before he, too, turned to head back over to the centre of the camp.

"That was a neat trick," said Magnhild in Cyrodiilic, "And don't worry about that old man. Vil and I can get him to see sense."

"Good to hear," Avernus said with a chuckle. "So what's happening with the camp?"

"Well we got out the tents and bedrolls, and now we're just setting everything up," Magnhild informed him, "Oh and that reminds me; we only have five bedrolls, seeing as how we didn't expect to be picking up people on our travels. I could sleep with Vil and free up a bedroll, but you'll still be down one. Sorry."

"I see. Well one is better than none at all. Thanks, Hilda."

"No problem. I should get back to setting up the camp though. Then later you can tell me all about your grand adventures since escaping your Falmer overlords," she joked, coaxing forth a small laugh from Avernus.

"Oh yes, the _grand_ tales of a crippled man, limping from village to village on his way home. A _true_ epic," Avernus joked back sarcastically. "However, there was one_ especially_ noteworthy part. Which I'm sure will convince you that I must have been drunk at the time."

"Oh really?" asked Magnhild, intrigued, "Well we'll have to see about that, then. But I gotta get back to work. Shouldn't take long though, then we exchange all our crazy stories."

"Sounds good," said Avernus as he watched his sister return to help the other two merchants. He turned back to Leto, who was waiting patiently beside him.

"That was amazing Avernus! I've never heard of such magic before," exclaimed Leto in Falmeri.

"IT's called a glyph," Avernus explained," It's like a magical trap. When you step on it, the trap is set off. That was a simple trap, but there are more complex arrangements that can be used. Would you like to see another one?"

"Please?" she asked after nodding.

"Alright, I'll show you another arrangement then," said Avernus as he hobbled over to where he had inscribed the first glyph and set about creating another one. Leto followed him, picked up the rock she used to detonate the glyph, and then watched him work. This time, he drew two circles in the dirt, about ten paces apart, and connected them with a straight line. The patterns in the one circle were different than the other, and this time Avernus only charged one of the glyphs with magical energy, causing its lines to glow faintly, while the lines of the other glyph remained dark and lifeless. After setting the new glyphs up, which took a bit longer than last time, he returned to Leto.

"Alright, the last arrangement was simple in that it consisted of a single glyph that contained both the trap, and the magic that powered the trap," Avernus explained, "This setup is different since it consists of two separate glyphs, one that holds the trap, and the other holding the magic. When the trap is sprung, magic is transferred from the power glyph to the trap glyph through the connecting line. Throw the rock again at the trap glyph to see."

Following his command, Leto hurled the rock at the dull, lifeless glyph and watched as another fiery explosion resulted.

"The advantage to this setup is that it's easier to disarm. All that needs to be done is for someone to disrupt the connecting line between the two glyphs, or step on the power glyph, which will destroy it and dissipate the magic without setting off the trap. In the last arrangement I showed you, the only way to disarm the trap is to either set it off, or have a mage reabsorb the magic that it contains."

"That's fascinating. I can definitely see how these glyphs would be useful. Thank you for showing them to me."

"No problem, Leto," Avernus replied, "Let's rejoin the others. They're probably done setting up the camp by now."

Leto helped Avernus back to the campsite, which was mostly set up by now. Magnhild and the two merchants had cleared the area of branches and rocks and other such debris, and had erected several tents around a circle of stones forming a crude fire pit. Between the fire pit and the tents, a couple of logs were placed for sitting. The wagon was off at the edge of the camp, on the side farthest from the road, and around it were some unloaded crates. Leto helped Avernus over to one of the logs and sat down next to him.

The two guards had returned by now, apparently having been out looking for firewood, judging by the small pile beside the fire pit. One of them had set up some wood and kindling, and was trying to get a fire going. Heinrik and Villemann were poking around in the crates while Magnhild and the other guard were sitting on the other log, having struck up a conversation with each other.

When the sun set, it got quite cold in Skyrim, even in the summer, and today was especially cold. Considering how emaciated Avernus was, he felt the harsh chill creeping into his bones more than anyone else. He drew his cloak tightly around himself, trembling slightly as he did so, in a futile effort to warm himself slightly.

Looking up, Avernus found that the one guard was _still_ trying to get a fire going. He was crouched down and hunched over the arrangement of wood, striking away with flint and steel unsuccessfully. The sparks refused to ignite the tinder and kindling. Frustrated, for he was freezing cold and desperately wanted a source of warmth, Avernus decided to intervene.

"Here, let me try. Maybe I can help," he said to the guard in Nordic, still sitting next to Leto on the log. The guard looked up and shrugged.

"You're certainly welcome to have a go at it if you'd like," he said as he stood and offered Avernus the flint and steel. Avernus politely refused the proffered items and focused his magical energies instead. With a gesture, which helped to direct the flow of magic through his body, Avernus caused the kindling to burst into flames, which soon spread to the firewood proper.

"Handy," remarked the guard, who was only mildly surprised by Avernus's display of magic. Avernus shifted forward to sit on the edge of the log and thus closer to the comforting warmth of fire. The two merchants returned shortly after, carrying cooking equipment and a couple small sacks of what Avernus assumed was food. Within minutes, they had a pot of stew cooking over the fire and began handing out pieces of bread and slices of preserved meat. Avernus happily devoured the food, and then turned to Leto.

"So," Avernus began, somewhat apprehensively, in Falmeri, "Hilda says that there aren't enough bedrolls, and that we'll have to share one."

"Oh. Okay," responded Leto.

"That's … not a problem?" asked Avernus, somewhat surprised.

"No. Why would it be?" Leto asked as she grasped both his hands in her own.

"Well, people on the surface aren't as open or relaxed with physical contact. I know that your people are different, but I don't know the extent to what's considered acceptable."

"Oh, that makes a lot of sense actually," said Leto, "Touching and closeness can be complicated among my people, but sleeping with you would be fine. Especially given the circumstances."

"Okay. That's good then," Avernus replied.

"That seems strange to me," began Leto, "That people _wouldn't_ touch often. The people of the surface seem so weird that way."

"Well, I think that because your people don't have sight, they rely on touching and physical contact more than we do. On the surface, it's the opposite; we rely so heavily on sight and hearing while physical contact is greatly reduced so that extensive or prolonged touching is usually only considered acceptable between people who are intimate."

"That would make sense, I suppose," Leto replied, "Hmm. You and I touch often; would that be considered intimate by your people?"

"I suppose so. Yeah, I think it probably would," Avernus answered.

"Oh. Do _you_ consider it to be intimate?" she asked apprehensively as she looked down to their joined hands.

"No," he replied, "You don't mean for our contact to be a sign of intimacy, so it doesn't bother me."

"Oh, that's good then," Leto said as she smiled with relief.

Avernus didn't tell Leto that that was only actually half true. He did enjoy the contact and he assigned no intimate meaning to their contact and touching, but he was a product of his culture and it occasionally _felt_ intimate, and this was troubling when it happened. He wouldn't dare tell that to Leto though, since to do so would practically be an admission of feelings that even he didn't understand fully yet.

"So, it doesn't bother you that people might think we're … intimate?" Leto asked, with a hint of playfulness in her voice.

"Hah, not at all," Avernus laughed, "You and I will be getting plenty of stares anyways. Let people think what they want; it doesn't matter to me. What about you? You don't seem bothered."

"Nope, I'm not. Well not as much" Leto answered, "In Helgen and Riverwood, we got plenty of attention, and I'm sure those people were thinking of worse things. It was uncomfortable at first, but it got easy to ignore after a little while."

"That's good," commented Avernus, "It's nice sometimes, just being able to not care what others think."

"Definitely!" Leto agreed.

A lull in the conversation followed, during which Leto broke their physical contact and resumed eating the rest of her meat and bread. Avernus used the time to make himself more comfortable. The heat from the fire had spread throughout his frail body and warmed him substantially, and his insulated cloak kept the heat in. The pain in his right leg had diminished too. Riding on the wagon rather than walking no doubt helped a great deal. It still hurt, of course – the pain in his leg never went away – but now it was more like a dull ache, which was much easier to bear, than a sharp pain. Avernus began gently rubbing the sensitive flesh through the leg of his pants, in an attempt to further dull the perpetual ache.

Meanwhile, the stew appeared to be finished cooking as now Villemann began ladling it into wooden bowls and handing them out. Avernus accepted his bowl of stew with a word of thanks and was about to eat when he noticed his sister sit down beside him.

"So," she began in Cyrodiilic, "Let's hear your crazy stories! You said there was one part that would convince me you were drunk. Let's hear it!"

"Gladly," Avernus laughed, "Alright, here it is: Leto and I were in Helgen when a dragon attacked and burned it to the ground. We escaped with an Imperial soldier and stayed the night in his uncle's house in Riverwood before hooking up with your caravan. There, now let's hear your accusations."

"Actually, I believe you," Magnhild replied.

"Really?" Avernus asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. We got to Riverwood only a day later than you so we were pretty close to Helgen when the attack happened," Magnhild explained, "We saw the huge columns of smoke coming from Helgen and shortly after I swear I saw what looked like a dragon fly away from it."

"What about the others?" Avernus asked, "What do they think?"

"Vil agrees with me and thinks it was a dragon," Magnhild replied, "Heinrik thinks we're nuts and says we just saw an odd-shaped puff of smoke. The other guards aren't sure what they think they saw, and think they were just imagining things when they saw it."

"That's understandable, I suppose," said Avernus, "After all, dragons are thought to be extinct, all killed off in their war with the ancient Nords, ages ago."

"So how did you and Leto escape?" Magnhild asked, "I didn't think anyone else made it out of Helgen alive."

"We fled to the basement of Helgen's keep, and there we found a series of passages and tunnels. After following them for a while, we found that they exited out into the wilderness. From there we made our way to Riverwood, and the rest I'm sure you know."

"Good thing you found those passages then. You might not have made it out otherwise."

"Yeah, probably. How terrible would that be, to survive years of torture underground only to be killed by a mythical creature on the way home?" Avernus laughed.

"That's one way of looking at it," Magnhild laughed with him.

"What about you, though? How'd you get by? It sounds like you were nearby when the dragon attacked."

"You're right, we _were_ nearby, but not close enough for the dragon to notice us," Magnhild explained, "We were on our way to Helgen from the town of Falkreath when we saw huge columns of smoke rising from the distance. We thought it was a Stormcloak assault or something since we knew that the Fourth Imperial Legion had a strong presence there. We didn't want to get caught up in the battle so we gave the town a wide berth and decided to head straight to Riverwood. I guess we must have been far enough away for the dragon not to notice us."

"Good thing you did, I don't think you'd have been so lucky if you kept on course," replied Avernus.

"No kidding. Probably would have made nice snack for that dragon."

"Heh, yeah probably," Avernus replied. A short period of silence followed in which Avernus finished off the remains of his stew. He set his bowl down by the fire and turned to Magnhild once more.

"I'm going to go set up those glyphs around the camp, and then I think I'll go to sleep," he informed her.

"Alright, good luck. I'll tell everyone else too so they know where they are and don't step on them."

Avernus nodded and pulled himself painfully to his feet. He noted how this simple action seemed easer now than it head a couple days ago, which hopefully meant that some of his strength was returning. Of course it helped that he'd been eating several meals a day now, and got to sleep more. _Still a ways to go yet, though. _As soon as Avernus stood up, Leto was at his side instantly, supporting him once more. She briefly asked what he was doing and he told her in Falmeri the same thing he told his sister.

The pair then got to work. They examined the perimeter of the camp and Leto helped Avernus determine critical points where it would be particularly easy for an assailant to enter the camp. Overall, the location wasn't too exposed; they were off to the side of the road opposite the side that the White River ran. The trees were clustered around the camp fairly densely, and several boulders and large rocks provided additional security, but there were still several weak points in the perimeter. Avernus set down some glyphs near these areas, but not the kind where the power was stored along with the effect of the tap in a single glyph. Instead, he placed trap glyphs along weak points in the camp's perimeter and further inside the camp close to a thick cluster of rocks and trees, he placed corresponding glyphs that housed the magical power that the glyphs drew on. He then connected all these power glyphs to a single diffusing glyph. When Leto asked him about this type of glyph, he explained to her how this new glyph functioned as a sort of master control switch; when he stepped into it, all the remaining magical energy in the connected power glyphs would be reabsorbed into his body, effectively diffusing all the remaining traps and rendering them harmless.

The whole process took about fifteen minutes and during that time and by the end, Avernus felt thoroughly drained. Glyphs could be incredibly useful tools, but they also usually required more energy than a comparable offensive spell did. As he limped back to the tents, he briefly explained to the rest of his companions where he had laid the traps, what each type of glyph did, and that they shouldn't step on any of them. He then bade them goodnight and made for one of the tents.

As Avernus pulled back the flap, he carefully got down on all fours and crawled inside, seeing as how his crippled leg prevented him from crouching. Leto followed behind him and due to her great stature, she had to crouch down quite a bit to what must have been an uncomfortable level.

"You're going to bed too?" Avernus asked, "You don't have to just because I am, you know."

"Who else would I talk to?" Leto quipped.

"Good point," Avernus chuckled. He removed his heavy cloak and set it off to the side with his cane before opening the bedroll and climbing inside, rolling onto his side to minimize maximize the available space for Leto. Leto did the same with her cloak and weapons and slipped into the bedroll behind Avernus, back to back with him.

"Goodnight, Avernus," Leto murmured from behind. Within a few moments, the regular even breaths coming from Leto told Avernus that she had fallen asleep. Avernus was a light sleeper, especially after his stay underground, and sleep usually didn't reach him so easily, but shortly after Leto passed out, Avernus followed suit as the comforting darkness claimed him.

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><p><strong>Yeah sorry, I lied in the Author's Notes in my last chapter. No action in this chapter. But for <em>sure<em> there will be action in the next chapter. I promise this time. Which is is totally not like the promise I made last time :D Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll try not to take so long with the next chapter. And as always, your feedback is greatly appreciated and it would mean a lot to me if you took the time to leave a review, even if it's only a sentence or so. That's all for now. Cheers, and Happy Mother's Day!**


	9. Chapter IX

**Alrighty, here's the ninth chapter. Remember that link to a picture on DeviantArt that I imagine looks like Leto that I posted in an author's note way back? Or maybe you don't since it was a while ago. Anyways, I put that link in my profile so you don't have to hunt through all the author's notes of this story. Also, I'm too lazy to keep putting disclaimers in every chapter. The ones in the first eight should be sufficient. Not much else to say, so here's the story. Enjoy!**

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><p>A loud, crackling bang jolted Avernus into consciousness. It was the distinct sound of a shock glyph being set off, which meant someone or something was attacking. Leto was awakened as well. She bolted out of the bedroll, grabbed her twin swords, and flung the canvas flap of their tent wide open.<p>

It was still the middle of the night and the sky was pitch-black. The campfire was still going, though it wasn't as large as when it was used to prepare the stew last night, and sitting on a log next to the fire, slumped over a bit was one of the caravan guards. Protruding from his neck were the shafts of two arrows, and at his feet, blood was quickly pooling. It looked like he was just killed.

Over at the far edge of the camp, a smoking dead body lay between some trees, obviously having stepped on one of Avernus's glyphs. Beyond the tree line, Leto could make out the silhouettes of numerous figures, rushing back and forth. Another assailant tried to enter the camp, but he too met his demise as he stepped on another of Avernus's glyphs and was engulfed in a torrent of surging electricity.

These bandits looked odd though. They weren't dressed in the simple furs and hides like the bandit group that ambushed them on the way to Helgen; instead they were dressed in proper leather armour and some even wore scaled mail. Maybe they were mercenaries. Or maybe they were just bandits who were really successful at what they did. Leto couldn't tell which option was correct at the moment, but she had more important things to worry about anyways.

By now, Magnhild and the other guard had emerged from their tents, and Avernus was just hauling himself upright. Instead of charging their assailants, Leto, Magnhild and the other guard simply waited for them to try crossing the threshold into the camp; maybe one or two others would also kill themselves on one of Avernus's traps.

The party had no such luck however, as their assailants decided it would be safer if they crossed the threshold over the two corpses of their dead companions, where they knew for sure that there were no glyphs waiting to surprise them.

The first bandit who made it into the camp went to attack Magnhild, but she immediately went on the offensive. She swung her greatsword at him again and again, forcing him to block her deadly attacks without giving him much of a chance to make any attacks of his own. Magnhild's strategy was simple but effective: overpower the enemy before he can do any damage. With every swing, she staggered him just a little more, and his blocks were becoming clumsier and more desperate. The odd strike he managed to make either missed, or clanged harmlessly off Magnhild's armour. She swung once more and this time the bandit was knocked off balance entirely and crashed into the dirt. Another swing from Magnhild ended his life.

Meanwhile, a bandit had already engaged Leto. He was armed with a single longsword and nothing more. With her twin swords, Leto easily blocked his blows while making strikes of her own. Their blades had only just clashed when she caught sight of one of Avernus's undetonated glyphs and an idea formed in her mind. She continued to block the man's attacks, but instead of aiming to land a killing blow when she attacked, she struck in such a way as to try to catch the man off balance while manoeuvring him towards the glyph. When he was close enough, Leto blocked his attack and swung low and to the side, causing the man to twist around at an awkward angle, before kicking him in the side. The man fell right onto the glyph and was consumed in a crackling flood of electricity. Leto didn't get much of a reprieve however; as soon as she had dispatched her current foe, two more came to take their fallen comrade's place.

Meanwhile, Avernus had also been engaged, but his magic made it comparatively easy to dispatch the assailants. One foe charged at Avernus but received a fire bolt to the face for his efforts. Another man got closer and tried to swing his axe at Avernus's neck but before he could do so, Avernus sent a blast of pure telekinetic energy at him, hurling him into a tree trunk with enough force to shatter his spine.

Avernus turned his attention to his sister and found her engaged by three enemies. Leto and the other guard were also fighting their own foes, so they weren't available to offer Magnhild assistance. His sister was deadly with a greatsword, but there were just too many foes for her to deal with at the moment and she was taking more hits than she was giving out. Fortunately, her formidable armour was keeping her safe, but that would only last for so long; eventually, one of the assailants would get smart and figure out that he could slip a dagger in between the plates of Magnhild's armour.

"Magnhild! Come here!" Avernus shouted to his sister in Cyrodiilic as he began limping slowly towards her. Avernus's shout drew the attention of one of Magnhild's bandits, as well as an additional foe, and both made to engage Avernus. In preparation, Avernus wrapped himself in a cloak of swirling electricity. The electricity didn't harm Avernus, but whenever a foe approached too closely, a bolt of electricity would shoot out from Avernus's protective cocoon and strike the attacker. It wasn't lethal, but it was incredibly painful and debilitating. Avernus's two attackers tried to break through to their target, but were met with failure as bolts of electricity shot out from their target and struck them, causing them to collapse to the ground, writhing in pain as the electricity spread throughout their bodies. With one less foe to deal with, Magnhild found that she could manoeuver more easily. She kicked one man down and shoulder checked the other one out of her way as she tried to head towards Avernus.

"Tale my hand, Hilda," Avernus commanded as he actively prevented his cocoon of electrical energy from striking out at his sister. "Trust me!" Magnhild grasped her brother's outstretched hand and the electricity spread from Avernus and engulfed her body as well. Avernus then began to pour magical energy into the electricity, causing the tendrils to glow brighter, and crackle even louder, and twist and swirl around their bodies at a furious rate. By now, Avernus and Magnhild had five men surrounding them on all sides, trying to figure out how they could strike the two down without getting shocked themselves.

When Avernus felt he had put enough energy into the electricity, he released it and his protective cocoon of energy exploded outwards with a blinding flash and a resounding boom. The men surrounding him and his sister were consumed in a torrent of electricity, numerous tendrils of energy coursing through their bodies, and flung outwards from the centre of the blast. The men landed about ten feet away, and writhed on the ground in agony as the deadly energy overloaded their systems and wreaked havoc on their bodies, filling the air with their screams. Magnhild quickly thanked her brother before leaving to help the surviving guard with his attackers.

Meanwhile, Leto had one foe left to deal with, but he was surprisingly quick and skilled with a blade. Despite having two swords while he had only one, Leto was having a very hard time landing any hits on him. He easily blocked most of her attacks and dodged others. He simply wasn't there whenever she attacked with both weapons at once, having moved out of the way with unnatural speed just a fraction of a second before her attacks would have struck. The man attacked just as quickly as he blocked and evaded her attacks, and Leto was having a hard time defending herself as well. Every now and then, one of the man's attacks would make it past her defenses and he'd land a blow. It was nothing serious yet, mostly just gashes on her arms, but they were quickly building up and Leto could feel exhaustion creeping up on her. She knew that she would have to end the fight very soon if she wanted to survive. But _how?_ That was the problem.

Leto continued to clash blades with the man. She blocked his swing – just barely – and countered with an attack of her own, swinging overhead and downwards in a diagonal arc. However, she apparently over-extended herself and her foe managed to evade the attack, quickly stepping to the side and slashing her arm as it went by, causing Leto to hiss in pain and anger. She quickly recovered herself and made to block the slurry of attacks that were surely coming, but instead she heard the man grunt in surprise as his arms were, seemingly against his will, forcibly lowered and his body slowly lifted about a foot off the ground. She saw the man's muscles twitching as he struggled to break free of whatever held him, but he found no success.

"Quickly, Leto, kill him now!" Leto turned upon hearing his voice to see Avernus standing close by, a couple dead bodies at his feet, with his hand outstretched and a look of concentration plastered on his face as he focused on keeping her foe suspended helplessly in the air. Not needing to be told twice, Leto turned back to the man and, with a shriek of anger, drove both her swords through his chest, nearly up to their hilts, causing the man to scream in agony and begin convulsing as the pain overwhelmed his body. Leto ripped her swords from him in as vicious a manner as possible and as soon as the blades left his body, he crumpled to the ground in a pathetic heap, Avernus having released the telekinetic forces that held him.

Her fight over, Leto doubled over in exhaustion, resting her hands on her knees and allowing herself a moment's reprieve. Her arms burned with fatigue and the slashes from the man's sword stung horribly. She panted heavily as she looked up to make sure she wasn't about to be struck down while she rested for a moment, and instead found Avernus limping over to her. On the ground were numerous dead bodies and nobody seemed to be fighting anymore? Over closer to the tents, she could see the two merchants, each with a small sword in their hands and both unharmed, and beside them were Magnhild and the surviving guard. Magnhild looked unharmed, but Leto could see blood dripping from the guard's armour. Whether it was his own or belonged to their foes, she couldn't tell.

"You're hurt," Avernus stated the obvious as a frown began appeared on his face. "Do you need help with your wounds?"

"No it's alright," Leto replied as she began magically sealing the gashes on her arms. While painful and extensive, they looked worse than they really were, and not all of the blood that coated her arms was hers anyways. Sealing her wounds was simple enough and within a minute, her injuries were taken care of. "Thank you for intervening, Avernus. I'm not sure I would've lasted much longer if you had acted a bit later."

"Best not to think about. I'm just happy you weren't hurt worse," said Avernus. "Shall we go back to our tent?" Leto gladly took his arm and the two began returning to the tent they shared.

Upon returning to the circle of tents, the pair was approached by Heinrik. "Hey elf! I owe you an apology for making a fuss about your magic traps. They probably saved our lives," he said as he turned his gaze towards the dead guard with arrows protruding from his neck. "Poor bastard."

"It's fine. I'm just glad they proved useful," Avernus replied.

"You're telling me!"

"Do you know anything about these men?" Avernus asked, "They look too well-equipped to be simple bandits or highwaymen."

"I'm not sure," Heinrik replied, "But I agree that they're probably not bandits. On top of being too well armed, there just seemed to be too many of them. If I had to guess, I'd say mercenaries hired by a rival company or something. With the rebellion destabilizing Skyrim and allowing for more bandit activity, it would be easy to ambush caravans and make it look like bandits did it."

"I see. That makes sense I suppose."

"Hey, do you know any healing magic? Our other man got wounded in the fight."

"I know a little, but not very much," admitted Avernus, "Leto probably knows more. I'm sure she'd be happy to offer aid."

"Thanks, I appreciate everything you've done for us," said Heinrik. Avernus nodded before turning to Leto and speaking to her in Falmeri.

"Do you think you'd be able to heal that man's injuries?" Avernus asked while indicating the surviving guard, "Heinrik says he got wounded in the fight and you know more healing magic than anyone else here."

"I can help him," Leto affirmed.

"Thank you, Leto," replied Avernus, "I'm going to go back to sleep. I'm tired."

"Okay, goodnight Avernus. And thank you again," she smiled wearily before leaving his side to tend to the injured guard. With that, Avernus limped back to his tent and carefully crawled inside once more. While he was indeed tired, the adrenalin in his body refused to let him sleep and for a very long time he lay awake, listening to the activities of his companions outside, but not really paying much attention. At one point he felt Leto climb back into the bedroll behind him. Eventually, however, sleep did manage to find him and his awareness was gently extinguished.

* * *

><p>The caravan set off shortly after dawn the next morning and made good time as they travelled to Whiterun. The rest of the journey was thankfully uneventful and the group made it to Whiterun shortly after noon. The merchants and the remaining guard were helping to check the horses into the stables, while Magnhild, Leto, and Avernus, having just parted company with the former, were currently making their way towards the main gates of the city. Leto had once more drawn her cloak tightly around herself and had her hood up, trying to reveal as little of herself as possible.<p>

The steps were the most annoying part, Avernus thought, as they were very difficult for him to climb, and Leto had to help him with each one. It was frustrating, requiring aid for something that small children could do on their own, but thankfully there were only a couple. Eventually, after crossing one final drawbridge, the main wooden gates finally came into view. A guard stood on either side of the gate, which was oddly closed shut. As the trio approached, one of the guards called out to them.

"Halt!" commanded the guard, "The city's closed with the dragon about. Official business only."

Huh. Well that meant that the Jarl was already aware that there was a dragon on the loose. Still, Avernus needed to keep the promise he made to Alvor. "We have news from Helgen about the dragon attack," Avernus explained, "We must have an audience with the jarl!"

The guard was silent for a while as he considered the request, looking over each member of the trio. With his helmet covering his face, it was impossible to tell where his eyes travelled, but Avernus had a feeling that they rested on Leto for longer than on him or Magnhild. "How did a cripple manage to get here from Helgen so fast?" he questioned skeptically.

"I fled to Riverwood and travelled with a caravan that was passing through on its way to Whiterun," Avernus answered truthfully.

"And your companion…" the guard continued, glancing down to Leto's uncovered, clawed feet, where his gaze lingered. "Uncover her." He commanded.

For a moment, Avernus simply stared back, reluctant to do as he was told, but if he refused to satisfy this guard's request, he might not be allowed into the city. "The guard requests you remove your cloak," Avernus turned and said to Leto in Falmeri eventually. Leto wordless obeyed, folding back her hood, slipping out of her cloak, and folding it over her arm.

The guard's only reaction was to continue his interrogation. "What manner of creature is this…_thing?_" he asked icily, venom creeping into his voice on the last word.

"Snow elf," Avernus answered impatiently, "Now may we enter the city now?"

"No."

"And why not?" Avernus demanded, anger creeping into his voice.

"We don't let monsters into the city. Now leave."

"I beg your pardon!" Magnhild exclaimed, taking a step forward, "Where in Whiterun's Code of Law does it state that Falmer are monsters?"

"Doesn't matter. It's common sense," the guard retorted, "Look at the thing! It's just like in the stories."

"You're basing your decisions on _children's_ tales?" Avernus asked in outraged disbelief.

"They're based on fact!" the guard shot back.

"_Based_ on fact." Avernus clarified, "That doesn't mean the stories are at all accurate. The stories _also_ say that dragons are extinct, yet you clearly know otherwise. Also, are not the Khajiit also accepted into the city?"

"Well…yeah, but-" the guard managed before he was cut off.

"And are they not _at least_ as dangerous or 'monstrous' as my companion here, seeing as how they also possess claws and sharp teeth?"

"I suppose they-"

"Then what makes this different?"

"Uh…I-"

"Furthermore," Avernus continued, "Would Jarl Balgruuf be pleased to hear that the bearers of news regarding dragon activity were turned away simply because the gatekeeper takes issue with their appearance?"

The guard was silent for a moment as he reconsidered his thoughts on the matter. "Fine," he relented, "You can enter the city. But we'll be keeping an eye on you!" The guard then unlocked and shoved open the heavy wooden gates to the city before resuming his position to the side. Avernus resisted the temptation to reply with a snide remark as he hobbled past the incompetent guard and through the city gates.

As Avernus finally set foot in the city he called home for half his life, he found himself flooded with emotions. Everything about the city, from the street layout and architectural style to the people who gave life to the city, was utterly familiar, yet, it also seemed as if he was entering the city for the first time. For ages he had been kept under tight lock and key, deep underground at the hands of monsters, and for ages he had imagined escaping and returning to his family. Now that he was finally here and only _minutes_ away from home, he found that it was quite different than how he imagined it would be. He figured that being free and entering the city of his childhood at long last would be the most wonderful feeling he had ever experienced. However, while it did indeed feel great to finally be freed from his captors and safely far from their torturous, pain-inflicting clutches, after close to a week the novelty was starting to wear off. Instead, Avernus felt fear and anxiety over exactly that which he had longed for: to see his family once more. How would they react to him essentially coming back from the grave? How much drama would there be? How much attention would he receive? Before he had been captured, he had never liked being the centre of attention and after living through such brutal torture underground, he found that the idea of _more_ attention focused on him was actually quite frightening. He knew his anxiety was completely ridiculous since his family loved him and had intentions that could not be any _more_ opposed to those of his Falmer captors, and yet Avernus still found himself unable to dispel his apprehension.

Shortly after setting foot in the city, Magnhild spoke up. "I know you wanted to warn Jarl Balgruuf about Helgen and the dragon attack, but you're really not in any condition to climb all the way up to Dragonsreach," she stated, "I'll warn the Jarl instead, so you can go straight home."

"Thank you, Hilda, but I would, uh…like it if you were with me when we go home," Avernus replied somewhat shyly and uncertainly, "If that's alright with you."

"Of course," Magnhild replied, "But you'll have to wait for me then."

"That's fine," said Avernus.

As the trio made their way through the streets, they earned inquisitive stares from a good amount of people. While it wasn't as in Riverwood or Helgen, a crippled elf, an armoured woman, and a very tall, hooded woman covered nearly from head to toe (for Leto had re-cloaked herself) was still a strange sight. It got better once they reached the market district; the people there were more concerned with buying and selling their wares and most were too busy focusing on their monetary exchanges to pay the trio much mind.

The market district was an interesting place in the city; there was one large, open square (well, it was more circular than square, really) where many merchants gathered at stalls to sell their wares. Then around this central square were a series of streets and alleys where various shops and warehouses and taverns were located. Since Whiterun was located in the centre of Skyrim, it had become an important trading hub in the province where anything and everything could be bought and sold, from armour, clothing, and weapons to rare alchemical ingredients and exotic foods, and everything in between. Indeed, the family alchemy shop, Arcadia's Cauldron, which his grandparents had started and then gradually handed down to his mother as they got older, was located in one of the back streets of the market area, and as the trio made their way through the markets, Avernus wondered if his mother was in there now, preparing potions or healing the sick.

Since it was still early afternoon, the streets were fairly crowded and even though the trio had already passed the central square, they could still hear vendors hawking their wares and customers haggling with vendors over prices. Eventually, the trio approached a wide stairway that signalled the end of the Plains District, which contained the markets and most of the eastern part of the city, and the beginning of the Wind District, which consisted mostly of residences and comprised most of the western half of the city except for Dragonsreach, which solely comprised the third and final Cloud District.

At the top of the stairway, the street continued for a ways until it opened up onto another major square. This one consisted of water flowing in small manmade streams around a sort of island, with small wooden bridges crossing the streams and a carved wooden arch spanning the perimeter. In the centre of the island was a massive tree, the Gildergreen, that towered over the surrounding buildings and was easily as thick as a man was tall, and around this tree, facing outwards, were several benches. The square was located at a crossroads. If the trio continued travelling west, they'd eventually arrive at Dragonsreach while travelling east, back the way they came, led back to the Plains District. North would eventually take them to the ancient mead hall Jorrvaskr, and south led to the family home.

"Alright, I'll go relay the news of Helgen to the Jarl," Magnhild explained to Avernus as they approached the centre of the island, "It shouldn't take very long. Wait here and when I get back we can all go home."

"Sounds good," Avernus replied as he carefully sat down on one of the benches. "Thanks again for doing this for me, Magnhild."

"No problem! I'll be back soon," said Magnhild before turning and setting off in the direction of Dragonsreach.

The trio had been walking through the city for about an hour now and Avernus's leg was burning with pain and exhaustion, sending tendrils of pain clawing their way up his lower back. As he began to gently massage the ruined limb with one hand, Leto sat down next to him and watched Magnhild depart.

"Where is she going?" she asked in Falmeri as she grasped Avernus's free hand in her own, establishing a comfortingly familiar contact.

"Magnhild's going to warn the Jarl about Helgen for us since there are a lot of steps on the way to the Jarl's palace. See that building?" Avernus then pointed to a very large, elaborate building with many peaks that towered over the other buildings in the distance. "That's the Jarl's palace. It rests on the apex of the hill that Whiterun was built over. When Magnhild comes back, then we'll go home."

"Oh okay," Leto replied, before asking another question. "Is a Jarl the leader of the city?"

"Not just the city," Avernus answered, "Skyrim is divided into nine smaller administrative divisions called holds. A Jarl is the leader of the entire hold as well as the hold's capital city."

"I see. Interesting," Leto remarked.

"I'll show you a map when we get home."

"What's a map?" Leto asked in confusion, prompting a chuckle from Avernus.

"Sorry, I forget you don't know these things," he said, "A map is a scaled drawing of a certain geographical area so you can see where everything is in relation to each other. You'll see when we get home."

Leto just nodded and turned her attention to watching the people go by. She had never seen so many surfacers in one place before. There even seemed to be more surfacers in this city than there were Falmer back from where she came from. And they were very diverse too! She remembered Avernus describing all the different races on the surface and she saw a lot of what he described. For the first time since coming to the surface, Leto saw other elves! She saw a Dunmer man walk by, and thought he was especially interesting since Avernus was half Dunmer. She noticed how his skin was darker and greener than Avernus, and lacked the warmth that Avernus seemed to have. She also noticed how his facial features were similar to Avernus in that they had a similar structure and his features had similar lines and angles. And yet they were different also; this Dunmer's features were sharper than Avernus's to such a degree that Leto would describe his entire face as pointy while Avernus's elven features were softened by his human blood. Leto wondered if that Dunmer's features were typical for his race, or even of most elves since most humans had similar features despite the existence several races of humans.

She saw another type of elf walk by; this time it was a male Bosmer. Upon getting a brief look at his face as he passed by, Leto noticed that his features were much like the Dunmer who had walked by several minutes ago; they were quite angular and sharp, much more so than any human's, but not quite as sharp as the Dunmer man. It was very interesting, and Leto found herself wondering how elven women looked in comparison to their men. However, the most curious thing Leto noticed about the Bosmer was his unusually short stature. Indeed, he was shorter than most of the women walking by. Now that she thought about it, she recalled Avernus mentioning that Bosmer men were shorter than their women. Very strange, Leto thought. And interesting.

For a while, Leto continued to watch the people walk by, comparing what she observed to what Avernus had told her back underground. It was quite fascinating to be able to see with her own eyes what had only been described to her, but gradually she began to grow bored. Glancing back to Avernus, she found that he had a blank expression on his face and was staring at the ground. He wasn't usually very expressive unless he wanted to be, and Leto found it hard to judge his mood simply by looking at him, but after spending so long with him, she could usually tell how he was feeling based on other signs, and right now it seemed as if something was wrong.

"Are you alright, Avernus?" she asked him as she gently squeezed his hand.

"Yea, just nervous," he replied, squeezing her hand back, "They all think I'm dead, after all. And then there's…well, you. I'm bringing home an incredibly unusual guest. I don't mean to sound rude, but I'm sure you can see what I mean."

"Ah. So tell me again why _you're_ nervous," Leto jested as she grinned at him from under her hood.

"Good point," Avernus laughed back. He found himself staring in fascination at Leto's teeth as she smiled at him, and he wondered for a moment what kissing her would be like. _Wait, what? Where did that thought come from? _Avernus thought before forcing his attention back to the conversation at hand.

"Well, you don't have anything to worry about," Avernus tried reassuring Leto, "Once my family gets over the initial shock of meeting you, I'm sure they'll be quite friendly and treat you no differently than any other guest."

"Thanks, but that's not really what I'm worried about," Leto replied, "Like you said, it's meeting them that I'm nervous about."

"Well I guess there's nothing we can do about that then. At least you're not alone. We're both a couple of freaks now," Avernus laughed.

"So I'm a freak, am I?" Leto asked with mock indignation, causing Avernus to chuckle some more.

"Leto, my dear, we're in Skyrim, where most of the Nord majority happens to think that the farther you are from a white-skinned, able-bodied human, the more of a freak you are. You and I stick out like sore thumbs."

"And yet you don't sound like you care much," Leto remarked with some amusement.

"Well yes and no," Avernus replied, "I can't say I like all the attention we get. But then, why should I care about the ignorant opinions of the idiots who hold such beliefs?"

"That's good," Leto replied, "Those people sound like the other Falmer back underground."

"They're the same," Avernus bitterly confirmed, "They judge based on superficial differences and they fail to see people as individuals, viewing them as merely members of a larger, opposing group instead, which makes it so much easier for them to react with prejudice and hostility to those they consider 'outsiders', as I'm sure you can very well imagine."

Leto hummed and nodded sadly in agreement. For a while, the pair sat in comfortable silence, merely watching the people pass by as they waited for Magnhild to return. Avernus thoughts wandered and ended up turning to Leto, unsurprisingly. He realized that for the past half a year maybe, Leto had been a major part of his life. Most of that time period was spent underground in considerable pain, of course, with Leto taking care of his injuries, but even when she wasn't, she made sure to visit him at least once a day. And since their escape about a week ago, they'd never left each other's presence; Leto had become such a fundamental part of his life that Avernus simply couldn't imagine going home to his parents _without_ her, as if it were as much her home as it was his.

"I'm glad you're here with me, Leto," Avernus said sincerely after a little while as he disengaged his hands from hers and wrapped one bony arm around her, pulling her into an embrace. As Leto leaned into the embrace and reciprocated in kind, she realized with a small amount of glee that although there was usually lots of physical contact between them, this the first time that _Avernus_ had initiated it. Strangely, with this realization came a pleasant, tingling feeling in her belly.

"So am I," Leto replied warmly as she tightened her embrace. Leto and Avernus remained seated in each other's arms until Magnhild eventually returned from Dragonsreach. Eventually, they caught sight of Avernus's steel-clad sister making her way through the streets. As she approached and saw her brother and the Falmer woman sitting arm-in-arm like lovers, she couldn't help the smirk that formed, to which Avernus just smiled back unabashedly.

"So, how'd it go?" Avernus asked her as she approached.

"Well enough," Magnhild replied, "The Jarl's housecarl is paranoid, but I managed to get the message delivered. He also wanted to me to run an errand for his court wizard, but I politely refused. Now let's go home!"

"Gladly," Avernus agreed as he started to shakily pull himself to his feet. Leto, not needing to be told what was going, stood up and offered Avernus her assistance.

The trio then set off once more, exiting the square and heading south. As they progressed through the streets, the density of other pedestrians gradually decreased, seeing as how they were in a mostly residential area of the city with few shops and other attractions around. It didn't take long to arrive at the house and within a short period of time, it came into view. It was built in a traditional Nordic style, as were all the buildings of Whiterun, and was two storeys tall. However, aside from being fairly large, there was nothing to distinguish it from the other houses of the city.

Magnhild stepped onto the small porch and pounded her gauntleted fist on the door while Leto helped Avernus up behind her. Within a few moments, the sound of a lock being disengaged could be heard and the door swung open to reveal an elderly woman standing in the doorframe. A look of joy spread across her wrinkled face when she recognized Magnhild.

"Hilda, dear!" she greeted as she rushed forth to envelop the much larger woman in a hug. "I didn't know you were back in town. Will you be staying long?"

"Hi grandma! Yea, I will; Heinrik gave me some time off and it'll be about a month or so until the caravan is back in Whiterun. But look who I found!" Magnhild then stepped aside to reveal Avernus and Leto, who were waiting quietly behind Magnhild.

"Who are-" she began to ask as she took in the very strange appearances of the two figures before her, but fell silent as her gaze fell on Avernus, recognition in her eyes and a look of utter shock on her face.

"Hello, Grandmother."

* * *

><p><strong>I decided to try and make Whiterun seem much bigger than it appeared in the game. After all, it's supposed to be a city, not a small town that's only slightly bigger than the other villages in the hold. Obviously the developers made it that small for gameplay reasons and this is why I'm not describing everything in my story exactly as it would appear in the game. I hope you can appreciate my reasoning.<br>**

**And I decided not to do the encounter with Jarl Balgruuf after all. As you are no doubt aware, this is a significant diversion from the main quest of the game. Good! I'm tired of all the stories that follow exactly what happens in the game and basically turn into a walkthrough. So instead, I'm gonna try and be as original as possible. In fact, I'm debating whether or not I even _want_ to keep going with the main quest; I'm thinking I might want to just have the rest of the story be about how Avernnus and Leto deal with the events that unfold in Skyrim whilst building their relationship, but i still have plenty of time to think about it since, even if I decide to continue with my original plot idea of having Leto and Avernus follow the main quest, they won't get back on track for a while yet anyways. Of course, I'd gladly take your opinions and wishes into consideration as well, so please leave a review telling me what you think. I really do value your opinions. Goodbye for now, and happy Father's Day! ^_^****  
><strong>


	10. Chapter X

**Here's Chapter X. It feels like I just rambled on for this chapter and I'm sure it's one of my crappier ones, but I couldn't be bothered to start all over again so here it is. Or maybe it's not as bad as I think, but as always, that's for you to decide. I promise the next one will be better, though, since I have much more solid plans for it.**

**Also, I finally added a cover image for this story, since my profile picture of Hitler drinking beer and hugging Jesus isn't quite representative of its contents XD  
><strong>

* * *

><p>While the outside of the house conformed to the architectural style of Whiterun, the inside had a bit more of a Cyrodiilic layout. There was no large fire pit in the centre of the floor, rugs covered some of the floor, the walls were adorned with several paintings and the furniture was of a more southern style. Currently, Avernus and Leto were seated on an upholstered bench by the hearth, facing the front door, and sitting across from them on an opposite bench was Magnhild, who had since replaced her armour with clothing. Between the two benches and directly in front of the hearth was situated a small, low table with several empty porcelain cups on it and over the fires of the hearth, a pot of tea was brewing. Avernus's grandmother, Vesta, had sent her husband to go fetch Avernus's mother and sister from the shop and was currently seated on the opposite side of Avernus as she cursorily examined his frail, broken body.<p>

"I can't believe you're actually alive and sitting right next to me," she said in Cyrodiilic, disbelief and surprise still evident in her voice, despite the initial heart-stopping shock of seeing her supposedly dead grandson standing at the door a few moments ago, gradually wearing off. "Sweet Mara, what happened to you? My poor boy!" she lamented as she held and examined the three-fingered remains of his right hand.

"I'll tell you everything once mother, grandfather, and Cassia get back," replied Avernus.

"Good. Once they all get back, your mother and I will be having a proper look at you," Vesta declared. Avernus simply hummed in acknowledgment. "But until then, you can introduce me to your…rather intriguing companion."

"Of course. This is Leto," Avernus said as he leaned back so the two women on either side of him could better examine each other. "She's a Falmer, and were it not for her, I wouldn't be sitting here now." Avernus then turned towards Leto and spoke to her in Falmeri, "I'm sure you've already guessed it by now, but this is my grandmother."

"She speaks no Cyrodiilic then?" Vesta asked.

"No, only Falmeri," Avernus answered, "If you wish to speak to her, then I'll have to translate."

"I figured as much. Then tell her that we're immensely grateful for the role she played in your return and that we owe her a debt we can never pay off."

Avernus translated for his grandmother, and Leto bowed her head slightly in response and gave a small, toothless smile. "Tell her that helping to free you was the right thing to do, and that taking any other action would have been unacceptable," she said. Avernus then relayed Leto's words to his grandmother in Cyrodiilic.

"Nevertheless, we're very thankful," replied Vesta, "If there's anything at all we can do, please tell us."

"Actually," Avernus answered, "I was wondering if Leto could live here with us temporarily. She can't go back home, and since she's completely new to the surface world, she's effectively bound to me."

"So I see. Of course she can stay with us. You needn't have even asked," Vesta replied warmly, "However, space might be a problem. The twins can go back to sharing a room, and Hilda, you'll have to stay with Cassia. You'll have your old room back, Avernus, but there aren't enough beds."

"That's fine, she can sleep with me if she wishes," said Avernus.

His grandmother raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Are you two-"

"No, grandmother, we're not," Avernus interrupted, "Leto's culture is much more tolerant of close contact and proximity than ours and doesn't view it as inherently romantic or sexual."

"Alright, well you two work out the details then," Vesta said before getting up and tending to the still-brewing pot of tea.

"So", Avernus began in Falmeri to Leto, "The house is a bit crowded and the only place you can sleep is in my room. My bed is large enough for both of us, or if you prefer, one of us can sleep on the floor."

"That's alright, we can both sleep in the bed," she replied, "Well, if you're alright with it, I mean."

"I don't mind," Avernus said with a chuckle.

Turning back to his grandmother, he found she had poured the tea into the cups and had set out milk, brown sugar, honey, spoons, and a plate of tea biscuits. Avernus grabbed his cup of tea and began stirring in the milk and honey.

"What is this?" Leto asked, tapping a claw on the cup in front of her and staring at the dark liquid inside.

"Cyrodiilic tea," Avernus explained, "The leaves of the tea plant are dried and mixed with oil from the bergamot plant, then steeped in boiling water. Plain tea is a bit bitter, but I added milk and honey to sweeten it. Try yours plain, and then if you want, you can try mine to see what you like."

Leto picked up the cup in front of her and took a tentative sip. She then set her cup down and reached for Avernus's cup. As she took a sip of his tea and compared it to her plain tea, she decided she liked the sweet tasting tea better and mimicked Avernus's preparation of his tea with her own. Back underground, there were almost no sweet foods or drinks, and Leto found the new taste to be refreshingly new and quite delicious.

"Where is your friend from?" Vesta asked Avernus in Cyrodiilic, amusement in her voice, as she observed Leto preparing her tea. "You mentioned her not having seen the surface before."

"That's right," Avernus replied, "She comes from deep underground, below the ruins of a large Dwemer city underneath the Jerall Mountains."

"Is that where you were held while you were…gone?"

Avernus merely nodded in response. "So where are the twins?" he asked, overtly changing the subject.

"They went out with their friends," his grandmother answered, "They left just before you arrived so they'll be gone for some time yet."

Avernus replied with a simple "Oh" and once more, an awkward silence descended upon the family as they waited for their other family members to return. The silence this time was short lived, however, as the front door opened, and over Magnhild's shoulder Avernus saw his mother enter, wide-eyed and frantic, followed by his grandfather and his seventeen-year-old sister, Cassia. Grabbing his can, Avernus cautiously started to rise to greet his family.

"Oh, my baby!" his mother cried as soon as she caught sight of Avernus and rushed over to smother him in a tight embrace before he could move. There were tears in her eyes, Avernus noticed, but whether they were born of joy, sadness, or a mix of both, Avernus couldn't say. He gladly returned the gesture as he wrapped his weakened arms around his mother and practically clung to her, feeling his own eyes beginning to moisten as well. No further words were necessary, and their surroundings and company were momentarily forgotten as the two were swept up in their reunion.

Eventually, after what seemed like a small eternity wrapped in each other's arms, Avernus reluctantly disengaged himself and his mother finally got a good view of him. He could see her reddened eyes making quick little movements as she absorbed his every detail, and felt her hands cursorily examining his thin forearms and ruined hands.

"Oh gods, my poor baby," she lamented as fresh tears began to trickle from her eyes.

"You and I will need to take a look at him, Sylva," Vesta informed her daughter.

"I know, mother," Sylva replied before her attention turned towards Leto. "Is this your friend that your grandfather mentioned?"

"Yes," Avernus replied, "This is Leto. She's the main reason I'm here at all."

Then, without any warning, Avernus's mother, not at all off-put by Leto's appearance, bent down slightly and embraced the Falmer woman, who was still seated and caught by surprise. "Thank you! Thank you so much for returning my son!" Sylva cried. Leto didn't need a translation to understand the meaning of the message and returned the gesture.

Meanwhile, Cassia, who had been silently watching the emotional exchanges, walked up to Avernus and wordlessly embraced him.

"Hello, Cassia," Avernus greeted his younger sister warmly.

"I'm glad you're back," she said quietly.

"Me too."

Upon feeling a hand on his shoulder, Avernus turned to face his mother. "Mother's right; we need to examine you and your state of health," she said with a look of dread in her eyes, as if she feared what she might discover upon examining him.

"Right now?" Avernus questioned.

"The sooner the better, but first, tell us what happened to you," his mother replied as she and Avernus's grandfather took a seat on the opposite bench with Magnhild, while Cassia simply sat on the floor next to the bench.

"I guess it's story time then," Avernus remarked with a small measure of amusement as he noted the rest of his family staring expectantly at him before he sat down once more between his grandmother and Leto. "Alright then. You all remember I wrote home about the expedition I was going to be a part of shortly before I embarked, and Magnhild tells me that after several months, you received another letter from the University informing you that the expedition had vanished without a trace and that I was most likely dead, correct?"

"That's right," Avernus grandfather replied, "You said you were going to an ancient Dwemer city underneath the Jeralls, if memory serves. The letter the University sent said that they lost contact with your expedition and after sending a scouting party to re-establish contact, reported that they had found a couple bodies, and that the rest, including you, were missing and presumed dead."

"Right, that makes sense," he acknowledged, and found himself grasping Leto's hand for the comforting support her familiarity provided. "Partway through the expedition, we were ambushed by Falmer, who do indeed still exist, but no longer as the ancient Snow Elves who fought the first Atmoran immigrants. Leto is one of the Falmer who lived below the ruin, but only insofar as the term describes her race. The curiosity, kindness and selflessness she displayed when she helped me escape are the exceptions to the rules and she is considered by her own society as somewhat of an anomaly. But I digress."

"Anyways, our party was ambushed by Falmer and all the guards and some scholars killed," Avernus continued, "The other scholars, including myself, were dragged deeper underground to the lair of the Falmer before they were eventually killed. I was allowed to live because I possessed knowledge of their language from having studied their ancient culture. At first, they tortured me for information regarding the surface and after that they kept at it purely for their own wicked amusement."

"Eventually, the Falmer responsible for keeping me alive was killed in a feud between clans and was replaced by Leto. We talked and she decided to help me escape since she too was abused, seeing as how she belonged to one of the lowest castes of Falmer society. She helped me regain the use of my magic, which my captors had inhibited, and then we set out. We made it to the surface, passed through a couple towns, and stumbled upon Magnhild's caravan purely by chance, and now here we are. That's the gist of what's happened since I disappeared.

"Why did they want to know about the surface?" Cassia asked.

"Leto said some members of the ruling caste were thinking about launching raids on the surface, but that's a ridiculous idea since the Falmer are nothing more than blind savages who've never set foot outside their wretched caves," Avernus answered venomously.

"If they're all blind, then how can your friend see?" Avernus's grandfather asked.

"Their blindness is caused by their consumption of a toxic fungus that's been a staple in their diets for millennia, since the Dwemer kept them as slaves," Avernus answered, "But it's not permanent. If they ever stop eating the fungus, then their vision will return."

"Fascinating. I wish I could have seen this fungus," Vesta remarked, her passion for all things alchemical sparking her curiosity.

"Leto still has some, if you'd like," Avernus informed his grandmother.

"That'd be wonderful," she exclaimed, "But come. Now that you've told us what happened, your mother and I need to have a look at you." As she said this, Vesta stood and beckoned to a room at the back of the house that served as a sort of medical and alchemy workstation. Avernus pulled himself to his feet, as did his mother, grandmother, and Leto, and began shuffling over to the room, followed by the three women. The room wasn't very big, and contained a table, several shelves and cupboards filled with books and alchemy ingredients, and a small counter with various pieces of equipment used in the creation of potions and salves.

As Avernus's mother began gathering various supplies and equipment, his grandmother turned to him and spoke. "You'll need to remove your clothing so we can properly examine you."

As soon as Avernus's mind registered the words and their meaning, he suddenly felt fear start to lodge itself in his mind and send chills running through his body. No doubt it was his experiences underground as a captive of the Falmer that prompted such a reaction; back underground, when he was tortured, often he'd be stripped of any and all clothing and shackled whilst laying on a raised stone slab while a particular Falmer would exploit his intimate knowledge of the human body to cause as much pain as possible. While his mother and grandmother obviously had much more benevolent intentions, the parallels were still there and impossible to miss, and while Avernus _knew_ his fear was irrational, his body would not listen to reason.

Leto picked up on Avernus's anxiety almost immediately. The signs were subtle and hard to see, but after spending so much time constantly in his presence, Leto had become familiar with Avernus's body and its reactions. She could start to smell a faint odour of sweat coming from Avernus, saw his breathing increase ever so slightly, and noticed his barely-observable trembling. What had his grandmother said to him, Leto wondered, to provoke such a reaction?

"What's wrong Avernus?" she asked her friend in Falmeri, concern lacing her words, "What did your grandmother tell you?"

"Nothing's wrong, I'm just being stupid," Avernus replied bitterly, clearly frustrated with himself, "She said that I have to remove my clothing so that she and mother can properly assess my condition. I just can't help but be reminded of my treatment underground."

As he said this, Avernus rested his cane against the table and made to haul himself up onto it, but Leto beat him to it as she grabbed him under the arms and gently placed him upon the wooden surface of the table.

"That's normal. I'd be worried if you _didn't_ react that way," Leto replied, "And it doesn't mean you're being stupid. If you were, then you wouldn't be listening to reason at all."

"Perhaps you're right," Avernus conceded before he began pulling his shirt up over his head.

"And besides, I'll be right here to protect you from your big, bad grandma on the off chance that your instincts are right," Leto joked as she flashed him a grin. Avernus chuckled in response, but otherwise remained silent as he continued removing his clothing.

Once more, Leto saw how thin and skeletal he was, but he didn't appear to be as thin as the last time Leto saw him naked. It was still blatantly obvious that he had been starved, but his ribs weren't quite as prominent as before and his flesh seemed to be slowly growing in mass. Even though it was only a small change, Leto was still glad that Avernus seemed to be recovering.

Vesta, meanwhile, had been silently observing her grandson and the Falmer woman converse. She could tell that upon requesting Avernus remove his clothes, he had grown quite uncomfortable, and while she had no idea what the two were saying to each other, it was obvious that Leto's words helped calm him somewhat. Despite not knowing the woman too well, Vesta was glad that Avernus had a friend in Leto. And then, of course, the other thing Vesta noticed was the woman's viciously sharp and pointed teeth; they were like nothing she had ever seen before. Indeed, when combined with her strange skin and clawed hands and feet, the woman truly looked like a monster from stories designed to frighten children into obedience. The contrast between the woman's appearance and behaviour was glaringly obvious and Vesta couldn't help being intrigued by Avernus's companion. However, Avernus had finished disrobing, save for his smallclothes, and Sylva had gathered the necessary books, paper, and supplies which meant that it was time to get to work.

Since Leto had no idea what, specifically, the two older women were doing, she stood out of the way and silently observed them work. At first, they merely observed the state of Avernus's body and wrote things on the pieces of paper she saw Avernus's mother bring out. They checked his pulse, his heartbeat, and his breathing, and they measured the size of his muscles and noted his missing digits, all the while asking him questions and writing down what he said and then comparing it to what was written in their books. They spent an especially long amount of time examining the ruined flesh of his right leg, examining it and testing his response as they prodded it in various places and asking him to move it in certain ways. After some time, they finally finished and began packing away their various books and tools.

"So what happened?" Leto asked Avernus.

"They made notes of my condition and consulted various sources to come up with a recovery and rehabilitation plan for me," Avernus explained, "They also said that they couldn't do anything for my leg except for providing a pain-relieving potion for it."

"So it'll never heal fully?"

"We don't know for sure. My mother and grandmother are healers, but they don't rely on magic. You probably know more than they do since they were surprised my leg had healed even this much until I pointed out that it was your doing. They said that tomorrow, they'd find a magical healer to come take a look at me."

"Oh. Hopefully the healer will be able to do something," Leto said while Avernus merely hummed in response. As Avernus's mother and grandmother finished storing away their books and notes and other tools, Avernus began to re-dress himself, laboriously shifting his position when necessary in order to be able to manoeuvre his clothes back onto his body. Once he finished, Avernus then grasped Leto's hands locked his eyes with her own..

"So how are you doing, Leto? I'm sure that meeting my family and being immersed in a completely foreign culture must be overwhelming." Once more, Leto felt that pleasant, tingling feeling in her stomach. Leto loved that Avernus cared about how her situation was affecting her. Perhaps that sounded kind of pathetic, seeing as how one would expect such a quality in a friend, but back underground, no one but her parents cared about how Leto was feeling. She had few friends among the lower castes since most of them were frightened of associating with her since she seemed particularly hated by members of the upper castes who, needless to say, treated her like filth. It felt good to be cared about by someone other than her parents for a change.

"It is a bit of a shock," she answered truthfully, "Everything is so different from where I grew up. But I'm sure I'll adjust. Thanks for asking."

"That's good to hear. I'll try to help you through it as much as I can," Avernus said before giving her hands a gentle squeeze of reassurance. "But anyways, my grandparents are making dinner, which won't be ready for a while yet, so I thought I could show you some maps and teach you a bit about Skyrim and Tamriel, if you'd be interested."

"That would be great," Leto said enthusiastically. She remembered Avernus telling her about maps earlier and how the idea behind them greatly fascinated her since the Falmer had no equivalents and thus the idea was completely new to her.

Avernus then carefully hopped down from the table, grabbed his cane, and beckoned Leto to follow him as he hobbled out of the small medical room and back into the larger central room. He then went through a small doorway that led to a narrow set of stairs that led up to the second floor. After Leto helped Avernus up, they went through a door at the end of a hallway and found themselves in what appeared to be a bedroom. There was a bed in the corner, with a nightstand at its side and a chest at its foot, a wardrobe across from the bed, a desk in another corner, and multiple bookshelves, all filled, lining the walls.

"This is my bedroom," Avernus stated, "You can bring your things up here if you'll like, since we'll be sleeping here and I still have to find the maps anyways."

Taking Avernus's suggestion, Leto left the room and went back downstairs. She walked past the members of Avernus's family, who seemed not to have moved since they arrived and were currently engaged in a conversation that she couldn't understand, and towards her bag and weapons, which she had dumped by the front door when she arrived. As she scooped them up into her arms, she felt a couple sets of eyes on her but ignored them as she made her way back to Avernus's room. Upon arriving, she found Avernus standing by a bookshelf, fingers brushing over the spines of the leather-bound books as he read their titles. He didn't seem to notice her entrance.

"Where should I put my things?" she asked.

"Just dump them next to the chest," he replied without looking away from the books. "Also, you might want to grab an extra chair from the hallway."

Leto did as instructed and as she returned from the hallway with a chair in hand, she found that Avernus had found the book he was looking for and was hobbling back to the desk. She waited for him to put the book down and seat himself before setting her own chair down next to his and sitting down. Looking at the book, she found that it was much thinner than the magical textbook she had found in Helgen's keep, but was considerably wider and longer. On the cover were the same curvy symbols that appeared on the pages of the textbook, and below these were a couple more curvy lines that Leto was pretty sure were only for decoration, rather than for conveying words.

"This is called an atlas. It's a collection of maps bound in book form," Avernus said as he opened up the book and began turning the pages. Eventually, he settled on one page, and rather than lines and lines of tiny little characters, Leto saw what appeared to be a picture.

"This is a map of Skyrim, the province we're in now," Avernus said. The picture was hard to describe, since Leto had never seen anything like this before. On the page were many different sorts of lines, some connected, others not, some curvy, others jagged, and all of varying colours. Brown and black seemed to be the most common, but a few were red and blue also. A lot of short, jagged lines came together in acute angles in such a manner that they reminded Leto of the mountains that she saw as they travelled through the province; there were a lot of these types of lines and they were mostly brown and black. Avernus had said that maps represented the layout of the land, so Leto assumed that these lines represented the mountains of Skyrim. The blue lines were much fewer and farther between, but they ran on longer and snaked across the page in gentle curves, rarely forming the harsh angles of the mountains. A lot of these blue lines started in the mountains, but others started in odd, shapeless little enclosed areas outlined and shaded in blue, but all the blue lines ended up running to the top of the page, where a great, long, jagged, brown line divided the page. On top of the great line, everything was shaded blue, save for a few roughly circular brown outlines. Leto was pretty sure what the flowing blue lines were, but she was unsure of what the blue-shaded patches were. Another thing she noticed was that there seemed to be those curvy symbols, letters Avernus had said they were, by a lot of the curvy lines and mountains and strange blue patches. Those must be names then.

"So these lines are rivers?" she asked for clarification as she pressed the tip of one claw against one of the blue lines.

"That's right," Avernus confirmed.

"And what are these areas?" she asked, pointing to the patches of blue.

"Those are lakes," answered Avernus, "They're large bodies of water, kind of like a pool, but much deeper and with a far greater area. Make sense?"

"Alright, I see," Leto said, "But what's that large one that takes up the entire top section of the page?"

"That's a sea," Avernus said, "It's different from a lake in a couple ways. Firstly, the water in seas is salty whereas the water in lakes and rivers isn't. Secondly, seas are much larger than lakes and together, a group of seas surrounds a continent. If you looked at map of Tamriel, with a much lower magnification than this map, you would see seas – water – surrounding land, instead of land surrounding water as in the case of lakes."

"Wow," was all Leto replied with. The thought of water surrounding every landmass sounded amazing. It was such a foreign concept. Back underground, the largest bodies of water were little pools that streams and rivers fed into – little pools surrounded by solid rock. To think that an inverted scenario existed, where a relatively small area of solid land was surrounded by vast amounts of liquid was utterly alien, incredible in its unfamiliarity. Moving on, however, Leto turned her attention back towards the examination of the map.

In addition to the blue lines of the rivers, Leto saw many black lines cross the page, sometimes jagged like the mountains, and other times smooth and curvy like the rivers. Another thing Leto noticed was that all along the black lines were either small, uniform symbols, or larger (but still relatively tiny) unique little pictures. The pictures were all slightly different, but each one consisted of a sort of inverted, bulging triangle with a small design inside. Around these pictures and symbols too were the letters.

"Are these cities and towns?" She asked as she held a claw over one picture that consisted of two small, crossed blades superimposed on the upside down, rounded triangle thing.

"Yes. These pictures represent cities, and each picture is that particular city's official emblem," he explained, "These less elaborate, more uniform symbols represent smaller towns and villages."

"I see. So then do these black lines represent roads?"

"That's exactly right," Avernus said with a warm smile, pleased that Leto was learning so quickly.

As Leto turned her attention back to the map once more, she found that the only remaining type of line were the red ones that ran across the map in little dots, seemingly ignoring all the other features of the map. Leto had no idea what these types of lines represented.

"What are these ones?" she asked.

"Those represent political boundaries. More specifically, they represent the boundaries of the nine Holds that make up Skyrim."

That made sense; it explained why the lines ran across the page in seemingly arbitrary patterns without paying any heed to the other lines of the map. Now that Leto had all the features of the map explained to her, she could almost see the vast scenes of nature the map corresponded to, the winding rivers and looming mountains and the sweeping plains, all connected to each other with a newfound sense of order and clarity that had been lacking when Leto tried to picture Skyrim in her head before. Now, she could see all the details of the land, and understand where they lay relative to each other, and how they came together in such a unique manner as to produce Skyrim. It was a wonderful feeling, being able to make sense of a map, and Leto found herself staring at the map once more, eyes passing over every feature, subconsciously trying to understand and memorize and internalize all the details.

"You're like me," Avernus chuckled after observing Leto stare at the map for a few moments, "When my grandfather first got me this atlas when I was a child, I would spend hours flipping through all the maps and just staring at them endlessly."

"Well, it's fascinating, and entirely new" responded Leto, "My people don't have anything like this, and I doubt they ever will. How could I _not_ be captivated by it?"

"True," Avernus conceded and watched Leto just stare at the map for several moments longer. "But until you learn how to read, you won't be able to fully comprehend a map." As he said these words, Leto's attention was again drawn to the curvy letters next to the various lines and symbols, or just sprawled across certain sections of the map. Avernus was right; until she could read, she wouldn't actually know which areas any of these maps represented unless Avernus read the words to her.

Before Leto could say anything, she heard footsteps outside the in the hall and turned her attention towards the door. Avernus, seeing Leto's attention shift, followed suite. Within a moment, Cassia appeared in the doorframe.

"Dinner's ready," was all she said before disappearing back downstairs.

"Shall we, then?" Avernus asked Leto as he grabbed his cane and began to get up. Leaving the atlas open on the desk, Leto quickly stood, pulled the chairs out of the way, and helped Avernus to his feet. The two then exited Avernus's room, descended the stairs at the end of the hall and made their way into the dining room. As they took their seats at the table, Avernus noticed that his father still wasn't home and there wasn't any place at the table set for him. When he inquired about this, he was told that his father was away with a squad of the city guard on a bandit raid, and wouldn't be back for several days yet.

At first, aside from Avernus's initial question, there was little conversation exchanged between the family members. Avernus's 13-year-old twin siblings, Siv and Thorvar, had since returned and upon seeing Avernus and Leto enter, fell silent, their eyes widening to almost comical proportions. However, they soon got over their initial shock and as they began eating, the rest of the family was all but forgotten to them. Magnhild also started up a conversation with the other family members (which Avernus wasn't paying attention to) and soon enough, the unease and awkwardness that had settled over the dinner table had dissipated.

Avernus, meanwhile, ignored his family and conversed with Leto in Falmeri. He told her a bit about the food and how it was meant to be eaten. Leto actually found that she liked it better than the food she'd been given first at Eir's house in Helgen and then in Hadvar's uncle's house in Riverwood; it tasted better and was much more flavourful, and not as bland as the other foods. Avernus explained that the food was part of Cyrodiilic cuisine, which used more herbs and spices than typical Nordic cuisine.

"And what's that?" Leto asked, pointing to a glass of dark burgundy liquid that Avernus was drinking.

"This is wine. It's an alcoholic drink," Avernus explained.

"Alcoholic?"

"Right, I don't suppose your society was able to brew alcohol underground." Leto shook her head in confirmation. "Well, it's a kind of drug in that it alters the perception of the one who consumes it. As far as I know, people have been drinking it since before the advent of civilization, so it's firmly entrenched in almost all cultures and is commonly used as a sort of social drink. Would you like to try some of mine?"

"Sure," Leto replied before taking the glass Avernus offered. She took a sip of the strange liquid and felt a strange sort of mild, burning feeling in her mouth, while the flavour left her tongue tingling slightly. It was a very alien feeling, but not at all an unpleasant one. Deciding she'd like some more, she grabbed her own glass and poured some of the wine into it from the bottle she had seen Avernus use.

"Don't drink too much, and just take it slowly, alright?" Avernus advised her, "Don't hastily gulp it down, or you'll quickly end up drunk, especially since you're not accustomed to alcohol."

"Drunk?"

"Intoxicated. Temporarily impaired. Your mind won't be thinking properly."

"Ah," Leto replied as she resumed eating her meal.

She and Avernus began their own conversations as they ate, with topics ranging from Avernus's family and Leto's life underground to the various cultures of the surface and Avernus's travels across Tamriel. Avernus was eating slowly and Leto felt unusually hungry, filling her plate with second helpings while Avernus wasn't even halfway through his first. Meanwhile, half of Avernus's family had finished and only Cassia and his grandparents were still at the table.

At first, they conversed on and off, but as the dinner progressed, Avernus noticed Leto becoming chattier; the breaks between their conversations grew less frequent, and the conversations themselves ended up embarking on more wild tangents then before. Another curious thing was that Leto seemed more…giggly than before. When he looked at her now rosy-hued cheeks, Avernus was sure he had a pretty good idea of what was happening.

Currently, there was a lull in their conversation and Avernus was watching Leto trying unsuccessfully to stab a grape with her fork. Whenever she tried to clumsily stab it in the centre, the grape would roll away from her fork across the plate. "I can't get this grape with my fork," she said, then burst out in a small fit of giggles, "I used to be able to. Why can't I anymore? This is silly."

"Silly indeed," Avernus chuckled, which seemed to cause Leto to giggle even more.

"So, what did I tell you not to do earlier about the wine?" Avernus lightly reprimanded her.

"I know, take it slowly. I _did._ See? I still have some in my glass," Leto defended.

"And what did I say about not drinking too much?"

"I _didn't. _See? There's still half a bottle left, plenty left for anyone else who wants some," Leto said, pointing to a half-full bottle next to an empty one.

"That's not what I meant," Avernus said with a barely-repressed laugh, "I meant don't drink too much so you don't get drunk, which you seem pretty close to now."

"Ohhh," came Leto's intelligent response, followed promptly by another bout of giggling, "Oops!"

"So how many glasses have you had?"

"Just two. This is my second."

"No, not 'just.' Now we know two is too much for you," Avernus said with a chuckle. "Grandfather, could you pass the water please?" he asked in Cyrodiilic. Avernus's grandfather complied, reaching for a large pitcher and sliding it across the table, but not before making a crack at his grandson.

"Really, Avernus? Getting a woman drunk before taking her back to your bed? I thought we raised you better than that," he jested.

"I was that obvious about it, then?" Avernus sarcastically retorted. His grandfather just smirked back.

Turning his attention back to Leto, Avernus filled her now-empty wine glass with water. "Here, drink this water," he instructed, "Otherwise you'll have a pounding headache tomorrow morning." She did as instructed and drank the water in great gulps.

"Well, I was going to start teaching you how to read tonight," Avernus said, "But that'll have to wait until tomorrow. I doubt you'll retain anything in your current state."

"That sounds vaguely insulting. Should I be offended?" Leto joked as she started to get up.

"Oh yes. Absolutely," Avernus responded with sarcastic humour as Leto helped him to his feet, "I'm such a jerk that way. Haven't you noticed?"

More giggling from Leto. "No, you're a sweetie that way," she said warmly after her laughter died down, which caused Avernus to feel heat rising to his cheeks, which he dismissed as being due to the alcohol he had consumed. Sluggishly, the two made their way back to the stairs, both feeling the effects of the alcohol in their bodies.

"You sure your balance is good enough so that you won't collapse on top of me as you help me up?" Avernus asked, half-joking.

"Really? You have that little faith in me?" Leto asked with mock indignation, "But yes, I'm pretty sure I'm not _that_ tipsy."

"Pretty sure. That's reassuring," he sarcastically quipped.

"Oh shut up," she laughed as they began to carefully and somewhat awkwardly ascend the stairs. Fifteen wobbly steps and a short walk down the hall later and the two were safely back in Avernus's bedroom.

"Well, it's fairly late and there's not much else to do tonight, so I was thinking of going to bed, unless you want me to stay up with you for any particular reason," Avernus said.

"No, that's alright. All the wine's made me sleepy too," Leto said before yawning. "So I'm sleeping in your bed?" Avernus nodded. "And you're sleeping there too?"

"Yes. Or I can sleep on the floor if you prefer," he replied.

"Nope, absolutely not," Leto said with a smile before she walked over to the door, closed it, and began to undress. Soon enough, only her undergarments remained and she turned to extinguish the candles.

Avernus was already climbing into bed and was about to magically extinguish the candles that had since been lit when he noticed Leto turning towards the bed. It occurred to him that he had never seen her this bare before; even underground, the rags she preferred wearing were still more extensive in their coverage than the two pieces of underclothes she currently wore. Avernus's attention was drawn to her bare midriff. Her skin was so different from that of the surface-dwelling races of men and mer; it was smooth, but unlike the surface races, it seemed to be drawn tighter over her muscles and didn't look as soft and pliable, and as Leto crossed the room, these qualities showed in the movement of her skin over the toned muscle underneath. _More like hide than skin,_ Avernus thought. Of course, he had noticed these qualities long before, as they were standard features of the Falmer, but seeing so much exposed skin on Leto's body was much different than seeing just a hand or forearm. Avernus supposed that, as with her facial features and her claws and her teeth, he should have been off put, should have seen her skin as just one more ugly feature of her race, but as with everything else, he found himself inexplicably attracted to it. He doubted he could blame this on the alcohol. Shortly, the last candle had been blown out by Leto, plunging the room into absolute darkness, and Avernus could feel her large form climbing into bed with him. There was a moment of silence before Leto began speaking.

"So, I've been thinking-"

"Uh oh," Avernus jokingly interrupted her.

"Shut up," she laughed as she scooted closer in the bed and gave him a playful smack on the chest. "But _anyways_," she continued as she found his hand with her own and grasped it, "I've realized that you look at me funny."

Suddenly felt a jolting chill shot through him and his grip on Leto's hand slackened. "What?" he asked quietly.

"Mmhmm," Leto sleepily replied, oblivious to the change in Avernus's composure, "You look at me differently than you look at other people."

_Oh shit_, Avernus thought, _Was I that blatantly obvious about it? Nice going, idiot. Now what are you going to say to her?_

"Am I really that ugly?" Leto asked lightly, but only half-joking.

"Of course not. You're beautiful," Avernus said automatically before he could stop himself, his mouth apparently developing a will of its own. Had he really just said that? But apparently he shocked both of them since Leto didn't immediately respond.

"I don't think anyone's called me that before," she said after a moment or two of awkward, uncomfortable silence. Then Leto started giggling. "You're a freak," she laughed.

There was another uncomfortable moment of silence. "_What?_" Avernus asked in utter bewilderment.

"Especially on the surface, where everyone seems to think I'm ugly," Leto went on, sleepiness and fatigue causing her to start slurring her words more. "That makes you a freak," she giggled, "But a charming freak. _My_ charming freak, in fact." She then started stroking his upper arm with her other hand.

Avernus had no idea what to say to _that_, so instead, he simply remained quiet, and thankfully, Leto didn't seem inclined to continue speaking. But had she just said what he _thought_ she said? She referred to him as _hers_. Avernus would be lying if he said that didn't excite him. Did she actually…but no, she was intoxicated! Was that really Leto speaking when she had called him hers, or was it the alcohol? Avernus couldn't know, not until tomorrow morning at least. What if it wasn't her speaking? What if she woke up and tried to take back everything she said? _How horrible that would be, _thought Avernus. Then another thought came. _Wait, does that mean I've stopped denying that I want to be with her in that manner?_ Yes, apparently it did, he thought. Or was that the alcohol talking in him too? _Gah! You're thinking too much, Avernus, _he chastised himself. _Go to bed. Let this unfold in whatever course it will take in the morning._

Indeed, Avernus had noticed that Leto had stopped stroking his arm, and the deep, even breathing coming from her told him that she had succumbed to sleep. He tried to clear his cluttered head of any thoughts so that sleep would come to him too, but as he lay staring up into the darkness, he found that his mind would not stay quiet and would inevitably wander back to what Leto had said before falling asleep, and from there he would find himself going over all their conversations and the time he had spent with Leto since they had escaped from underground. Why was he being like this? He hadn't acted this way over a girl since adolescence.

No, he had a feeling that sleep would elude him for some time yet, tonight...

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><p><strong>So there's the end of the long, rambling chapter, at last. There's nothing like alcohol for lowering your inhibitions and making your head fuzzy :D <strong>

**Review and let me know what you think.  
><strong>

***Braces for flames and thrown objects*  
><strong>


	11. Chapter XI

**So I actually had more of a plan for this chapter than the last. Hopefully it shows. Not much else that I should talk about comes to mind, so I'll shut up and get on with the story. Enjoy!**

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><p>It was late in the morning when Avernus woke and sunlight streamed through the window and lit up the room. He was about to bring a hand up to rub at his eyes, which were still blurry from sleep, when he noticed Leto had, at some point in the night, pressed up against and draped an arm across his chest. Suddenly, the events of last night, after Leto had crawled into bed with him, came rushing back to Avernus, jolting him into awareness. She had called him charming, a good kind of freak, apparently, and <em>hers<em>. But now that she was sober, what would she say?

The anticipation was already making him restless. He pulled the covers off himself and, attempted to carefully extricate himself from Leto's grasp so as not to wake her. However, as soon as he tried to move her arm, she shifted her position slightly and her eyes shot open. Disengaging from Avernus, Leto yawned and sat up, stretching as she did so.

"Good morning," she said sleepily.

"Morning," Avernus said quietly, as he sat up and carefully shifted back so he could lean against the wall at the head of the bed. His right leg protested with a twinge of pain, but Avernus ignored it. "So how are you feeling?"

"Well enough," Leto began as she turned and locked eyes with Avernus, "I'm sorry about last night. I must have behaved like such a fool."

"Well, you were certainly chattier and…gigglier," Avernus noted, "But alcohol does that to you in large enough quantities."

"So I've found out," Leto remarked.

"So…" Avernus awkwardly began, "Do you remember what you said last night?"

Leto blushed and broke eye contact. "Yes. How embarrassing."

"And, uh…did you mean it? Or was that the alcohol talking?"

She blushed even harder. "I meant it," she said, so quiet it was nearly a whisper. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I don't want to ruin our friendship and you could never feel the same way, so just forget I said anything. Please," she said, still looking away and with an unmistakable note of shame in her voice which caused Avernus's heart to throb almost painfully in his chest. Avernus reached out and gently grasped her hand, stroking the tough, hide-like and beautiful skin.

"And how are you so certain I could never feel the same way?" he asked. She looked back to him and caught his gaze. Her eyes glimmered and were filled with just the faintest amount of hope. "Do you remember what I told you last night, which prompted you to drunkenly declare me a freak?" A small, amused grin appeared on her face, and the sparkle of hope in her eyes grew. She remembered.

"My turn to ask if _you_ meant it," she said quietly, that amused grin still there.

"Very sincerely so," answered Avernus before he lifted her hand and placed a tender kiss on top. "After everything I've been through with you, Leto, ever since I met you, and with your soothing concern, your constant care, and your unwavering kindness throughout it all, how could I _not _feel the same?"

Leto said nothing to that. Words would fail to do justice to the sense of breathless relief and utter joy she felt. Instead, she shifted herself closer to Avernus, wrapped her long, slender arms around him and crushed him against her chest. Avernus returned the tight embrace and for several long moments, the two sat wrapped tightly in each other's arms.

Leto was the first to draw away. She felt light and airy; she had felt this way about Avernus for a while, but had never worked up the courage to tell him. After all, he was a surface, and her people had imprisoned and maimed him. How could he possibly feel anything for her? She had convinced herself that nothing could come of it, so it would be best not to bring up her feelings. Apparently alcohol did wonders for lowering one's inhibitions. And how free she felt now! Unrestrained and free and light, as if she had been released from a tight, crushing cage. And judging by the adorably dopey little grin Avernus wore, Leto guessed he felt the same way.

"Now go clothe yourself," Avernus said, catching Leto completely off guard. "You're being unkind, teasing me like this," he said, giving a small, mildly lewd grin with a quick glance at her body.

Laughing, Leto hopped off the bed, stretched, and rifled through her bag for something to wear. She settled with a light, sleeveless tunic (one of the captured surface tunics she had taken before escaping with Avernus) and a skirt of Falmeri make. The skirt consisted of two pieces of tattered cloth that hung to just past her knees, attached to a skeever-hide belt and whose edges met and formed vents that ran along her thighs. It was an odd combination of clothing, but she hated the trousers she had worn for the past several days and she hadn't brought any alternative pieces. Besides, she liked the Falmeri clothes she had; they were light and allowed plenty of freedom for movement.

Avernus, meanwhile, had changed out of the clothes he had been wearing for the last several days and donned fresh, clean ones. Of course he had seen Leto naked when she removed the her undergarments to change, and he would admit that the sight sent a powerful throb of arousal shooting to his groin, but, as vivid a sight as it had been, it was very brief and he was able to push it out of his mind. For now, at least.

The two then exited his room, descended the stairs and ate a light breakfast outside on the porch. Of the many people that walked by in the streets, several stared with open shock as they took notice of Leto, but by this point, she was no longer disturbed by their gawking; in fact, they were even somewhat amusing, the looks they gave her, she thought. Mostly, she enjoyed the fresh air and just being outside as she ate with Avernus.

Following breakfast, the two retreated back inside the house where a bath had been prepared for them. For Avernus, it was the first bath he'd had in years and damn if it didn't feel wonderful washing all the accumulated grime off his body. Of course with his mangled leg, he needed some assistance which Leto was more than happy to provide. He didn't feel awkward that he was being helped by Leto and not another male; she had seen him naked before and after months of handling his body underground to heal his wounds, it just seemed normal to him now. Once Avernus finished and was helped out and back into his clothes, it was Leto's turn, and while Leto bathed, Avernus shaved the hair that had been growing on his face for the past several days. Bathing was a novel experience for Leto and the warm water felt wonderful on her skin. Back underground, when she needed to wash herself, she would have to squat naked on the banks of one of the rivers and splash the cold water onto her body; the Falmer had no containers large enough to serve as a bath tub and they didn't have enough fuel to burn to waste on heating that much water. Leto thoroughly enjoyed the bath and only got out when the water dropped back down to room temperature.

During the day, the house was mostly empty. Avernus's grandparents were still here, but his mother and Cassia were at the shop and Magnhild was out with the twins. With almost everyone gone, Avernus decided that he'd start teaching Leto how to read and write. The pair went back up to his room and sat down at his desk. He pulled out some sheets of blank paper, an inkbottle, and a pen. Not a cheap, crappy quill, but a proper pen with a metal nib. Leto watched as he uncorked the bottle, dipped the pen in a couple times, and tapped it twice on the rim of the bottle to shake off any loose drops.

"This is a pen," Avernus told Leto, "It's dipped in ink and a little is held in the nib, this metal part at the end. Once it runs out, you simply dip it a couple times in the ink once more. The ink itself is mostly water with very fine soot mixed in. Now watch." Avernus then began writing letters on one of the blank sheets of paper in front of him, all evenly spaced apart. When he stopped, he had written about thirty unique characters in three rows. Leto didn't recognize any of them, however. They looked quite different from the curvy letters she had seen on the maps and in the magic textbook.

"These are all the letters from the Falmeri alphabet," Avernus explained, "You won't find them used anywhere, save for a handful of advanced textbooks and scholarly scrolls locked away in university or college libraries, but I thought that it would be easier for you to learn to read and write using the alphabet meant for your own language. You see, alphabets are adapted for specific languages. You can't take any alphabet you please and use it to write whatever language you please. For example, Falmeri has a few sounds that Cyrodiilic doesn't, so the alphabet Cyrodiilic uses (which is called Nedic) wouldn't have letters to represent these sounds. Make sense?"

Leto nodded.

"Excellent," Avernus replied, "Once you have the basics of reading and writing down, then I can start teaching you languages too. It'll be easier to learn them if you can read. Now, study these characters carefully…"

As Avernus went over the letters and their names, he also voiced the sounds each letter represented. It also helped that the name of each letter usually carried in it the sound that the letter represented too. They went over the letters several times until Leto thought she had memorized them all. Avernus then had her try to recite all their names and sounds without any help. Most of them she got, but a couple she had trouble remembering and couldn't get. Thankfully, Avernus was a patient teacher and didn't mind going over them several more times.

Then, when she could get all the letters without any mistakes, he came up with a new test. He folded the piece of paper in half so that the three rows of letters he had written were hidden inside. He then wrote all the characters again in another three rows, but this time in a totally random order, and had her name them again and make their sounds. It was a bit more difficult and it took Leto longer, but she was able to get them all right on the first try. Avernus seemed pleased and Leto was quite happy with herself.

Within an hour, they had moved on to simple, mono-syllabic words. These were more difficult, Leto found. She had to look at the word, identify the letters, put together the sounds they made, and then search her vocabulary for the word that sounded like a match. It was difficult at first, but she was getting the hang of it. However, before they could progress any further, the lesson was interrupted by a knock on the doorframe. Turning, the two found Avernus's mother, Sylva standing in the doorframe, apparently having returned from the shop.

"The healer's here, waiting downstairs at the door," she said in Cyrodiilic, "Her name is Danica Pure-Spring. She's a Priestess from the temple of Kynareth. I've heard she's very skilled in healing magic."

"Thanks mother, I'll be down in a minute," Avernus said before turning to Leto.

"The healer's here. I can resume teaching you either later tonight, or tomorrow. Whichever you prefer," he said in Falmeri as he corked the inkbottle and produced a cloth to wipe the pen clean of ink with.

"Tomorrow would be good," Leto replied.

"Tomorrow it is, then," said Avernus with a smile as he finished putting away the writing supplies and paper. He grabbed his cane and started hauling himself up. As always, Leto was up and at his side in a moment, helping him out of the room and down the stairs.

As they stepped out into the main room, they saw a tall, middle-aged woman standing by the door, conversing with Sylva. She was dressed in a very plain and simple orange robe accompanied by a yellow hood, the unmistakable attire of the priesthood. Upon catching sight of Leto, her eyes widened and her mouth hung open a little, obviously startled, but to her credit, she recovered quickly.

"Greetings, child," she spoke in thickly accented Nordic as she strode over to the pair. "I'm Danica Pure-Spring. I see now why your mother asked me to come to you."

"Hello, Danica," Avernus replied, "I appreciate you going out of your way to come help me, and I apologize if I'm inconveniencing you."

"There's nothing to apologize for. Tending to those in need is a duty I'm honoured to perform, and never an inconvenience. Now let's take a look at you, shall we?"

Sylva then led them all to the medical room in the back and soon enough, Avernus found himself sitting on the examination table once more but this time only with his trousers removed. Danica was very thorough in her examination, going over every square inch of the twisted, mangled flesh, occasionally poking and prodding a couple places which looked either particularly damaged or relatively unharmed and only ever receiving quiet grunts of pain in response. Since she was only looking at Avernus's leg, the examination was considerably shorter than the previous night with his mother and grandmother, and within about ten minutes or so, she was finished.

"I'm so sorry, but there's nothing I can do," she said at last, "Your leg has fully healed, even though it healed incorrectly, so restoration magic won't be able to correct it. The only way would be to tear up the flesh in the exact same patterns as your original injuries and heal it over again, which is impossible for me to do. I'm sorry, my child."

So that was it then, he would never be able to walk without a stick again. He would never be able to run, or dance, or jump, or swim, or climb. Climbing stairs would be painful, and even walking with the aid of a cane would be exhausting. For the rest of his centuries-long life (for human-elf hybrids always took the lifespan of the elven parent) he would be crippled, less mobile than even old men, his independence severely reduced. Having just escaped from underground with Leto, Avernus had initially felt ashamed of himself. Over the last several days, that feeling had been reduced as he convinced himself that he had a chance of being healed upon returning to Whiterun. Now that hope was crushed, but instead of the feelings of despair and self-pity returning, Avernus felt anger. Not towards Danica Pure-Spring of course, for she was just the messenger, but rather towards those who had crippled him, those wretched Falmer underground. The anger he felt also awakened a new feeling in him: hatred. Even when he was still a prisoner of them, he didn't hate them. He could partly understand their thinking, and besides, it was too exhausting to hate them, it required too much effort. But now, that all changed. Still, he managed to mask his feelings and keep himself composed as he spoke to Danica Pure-Spring.

"I see," Avernus replied in a flat voice, "Well, thank you anyways. Regardless of the outcome, I appreciate immensely you coming to take a look at me."

"You're very welcome, child. I only wish I could have been of more use," the priestess replied, before she and Sylva exited the room, leaving Avernus alone with Leto.

"Not good news then?" Leto asked in Falmeri, her voice laced with concern and worry.

"Nope. She couldn't do anything. I'm stuck like this," Avernus said in the same calm, flat voice, which, by now, Leto knew meant that he was anything but calm. Knowing that any words she might have would be futile, she instead walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him, trying to pour as much feeling as she could into that embrace.

As Leto smothered him against her, he felt his anger start to diminish. There was so much care and affection radiating from her embrace that it was nearly palpable, and Avernus found that it made it very difficult to feel angry and hateful. It felt good, knowing that Leto cared so dearly about him, and he clung to her embrace. They continued holding each other for a couple minutes more, both of them savouring the contact, until Avernus finally disengaged.

"Thank you Leto. And sorry for that," said Avernus.

"What are you sorry for?"

"For being childish," he said.

"It's not childish. I'd feel the same in your position. There's nothing to forgive, Avernus," Leto said with a smile.

"Thanks," Avernus said as he grabbed his pants and began putting them back on.

Afterwards, he and Leto left the house and spent a couple hours walking around the city, mostly in the Plains District. Leto was curious to see more of the city and Avernus was told that he needed to walk around a bit since the exercise would help the muscle in his good leg to rebuild itself a bit faster. Even with a cane and Leto's support, walking was still painful, but it felt good to get out of the house and he needed the exercise anyways. They didn't frequent any shops or visit any taverns; instead, they just walked through the streets, enjoying the atmosphere of the city, and eventually came to a small park. They of course got many shocked and intrigued stares along the way, but by now they were used to the looks and the people at least had the decency to try to recompose themselves fairly quickly.

While Avernus sat on a bench in the park, resting and out of breath, he talked a bit about the city's history to Leto, explaining its origins and people. The conversation soon moved towards exchanging stories of their childhoods and growing up in the city for Avernus, and for Leto growing up in the Dwemer ruins. Eventually, the conversations died down and the two sat in silence, leaning against each other and enjoying each other's company. The sun was setting by now, and the two watched the skies and clouds lite up in flaming oranges and yellows and pinks as the blazing orb dipped ever lower in the sky. Despite having been on the surface for several days now, the sight was still a novel experience and she found herself captivated by its beauty.

Eventually, the pair got up and started making their way back home, which didn't take very long. Upon arriving, they found that the rest of Avernus's family had returned as well and were just starting to eat dinner. Leto abstained from the wine this time around, having learned her lesson the previous night, and following the meal, they sat in the common room and spent time the remainder of the evening conversing with Avernus's family, save for the twins and Cassia, who ran off to do their own thing. Avernus's mother and grandparents even conversed with Leto, having Avernus translate back and forth for them, which Magnhild found somewhat amusing. Afterwards, with most of the evening spent, the pair retreated to Avernus's bedroom and went to sleep.

The next several days followed a similar routine. Avernus explored the city even more with Leto, and one day the two went to the market to buy Leto some more clothes. At first, the shopkeeper, a small, old woman who reminded Avernus a little of his grandmother, was terrified of Leto, but managed to calm herself enough to help her odd customers. During the same trip, Avernus had also bought himself a proper cane and ditched the bent iron rod he had been using.

Avernus also spent considerable time everyday helping Leto learn to read. On their third day, Avernus began teaching Leto how to write words herself, which she picked up very quickly. The next day, he began translating pages from history books, bestiaries, biographies and other types of reference books into Falmeri for Leto to practice reading. It made learning to read even more interesting for Leto, since she got to learn even more about the surface world. Avernus was impressed with how fast Leto was learning and upon telling her so, Leto felt quite pleased with herself.

Their fifth day home was Sundas, the 23rd of Last Seed. As usual, the sun was shining brightly by the time Avernus woke up and its light spilled through the window and illuminated the room. Yawning, he pushed himself up and sat back against his bed's headboard. Leto had slept on a pile of blankets on the floor last night; she had said she felt like she had the beginning of a cold and didn't want to pass it on to Avernus. Looking over the bed, he found that she seemed to be awake. She had pulled the covers almost entirely over her head, but Avernus could see her beautiful, purple eyes open underneath the covers.

"Good morning, Leto," he greeted her, "How are you feeling?"

"Strange," came her reply, "I don't feel sick anymore, but I don't feel…normal either."

"How so?"

"I feel sort of…sluggish, like I don't have the energy to move around much. But at the same time, I feel stronger, as if my muscles have more strength than they did yesterday."

"Hmm. That _is_ odd," Avernus remarked, "Those symptoms don't sound typical of any illness I know, but then I'm not familiar with many either. Mother might know more."

"Also, why is it so bright in here?" Leto asked, as she brought her hand up to shield her eyes.

"Bright?" Avernus asked, "I don't know. It's not any brighter in here than it was yesterday morning, or the morning before. Do you have a headache or something?"

"No, my head feels fine," Leto replied, "It just seems so much brighter than before."

"Strange. Are you feeling well enough to eat breakfast downstairs? Or would you like it brought up?"

"No it's fine, I'll go downstairs," Leto said, "I want to talk to your mother. Maybe she'll know what this is."

Leto then threw the blanket off herself and, still covering her eyes, fumbled around in her pack for a set of her Falmer clothes, consisting of another skirt of similar design, and a sleeveless shirt that bared her midriff; she decided she wanted something light and comfortable, and she didn't feel like going out today anyways so she didn't need to worry about drawing more attention than necessary. Once dressed, she and Avernus left the room, descended the stairs, and sat down at the table. It was bright in there too, much to Leto's dismay, and she alternated between covering her eyes with her hand and squinting. Avernus's grandparents were seated at the table when Avernus and Leto entered and they immediately noticed Leto's odd behaviour.

"Has Leto's cold worsened?" Vesta asked.

"I'm not sure it's a cold," Avernus answered, "She says she doesn't feel sick, but says she _has_ been feeling strange. She also says it seems very bright in the house, and feels like she has no energy, but feels stronger physically at the same time. Does any of this sound familiar to you?"

"No, it doesn't. Is there anything else that feels different?" Vesta inquired. Avernus then relayed the question to Leto in Falmeri.

"Yes," Leto replied, "I feel very thirsty. Thirstier than when I usually wake up. But that's about it." Avernus then relayed the information back to his grandmother in Cyrodiilic.

"Well, the increased thirst doesn't seem unusual; it's a common symptom of a lot of illnesses. There's nothing else wrong though?"

"No, she said that's it."

"Strange. Well, I can go through some of my old books and see if they have any information," Vesta replied, before turning to her husband, "Julius, go get them some breakfast." Vesta then left the room while Julius got up and started gathering food onto two plates from the counter nearby. He returned shortly, and set the plates in front of Avernus and Leto, also bringing tea for Avernus and a large glass of water for Leto. She reached for her food, but then let out a sharp hiss and jerked her hand back quickly. Avernus and his grandfather both looked back to her with concern.

"What happened?" Avernus asked.

"I don't know," Leto replied, "I reached for the bread, and then my hand got burnt. Felt like it was on fire."

"Huh," Avernus replied. What could have burned Leto's hand? Surely not the food, it wasn't very hot at all. This was very strange. _Hmm, sensitivity to light, her hand getting burnt when she reaches for her food…Wait! The light from the window is shining on her food. I wonder…_ Wheels began turning in Avernus's head as the puzzle started to make sense.

"I want to see something, Leto. Put your hand in the light," Avernus instructed. Leto lifted one clawed hand and tentatively reached for the light. When the light fell on her skin, she yelped in pain and violently jerked hand back.

"Oh my. Is she really…?" Julius trailed off, worry evident in his tone, finding himself unable to bring to words what he was thinking. Avernus exchanged a worried look with his grandfather before turning his attention back to Leto. He leaned across the table and slid her plate and glass out of the sun.

"Drink your water, and tell me if your thirst goes away," Avernus told her. Leto did as instructed and downed the tall glass of water in only a few gulps, then waited a few moments to see if she felt any differently.

"I'm still thirsty," she said, "If anything, it's gotten worse."

"That's not good," Avernus said worriedly.

"Why? What's happening to me," Leto asked desperately.

"I think I know, but I want to perform one more test, just to be sure," he said, before turning to his grandfather.

"Can you pass me a knife, please?" He requested in Cyrodiilic. His grandfather got up, strode over to the counter, and returned with the knife in his hand.

"What are you doing?" Leto asked, eying the knife with curiosity.

Avernus ignored her. He brought the knife up to his hand and made a small cut on his left middle finger, then set the knife down and dribbled a few drops onto the blade. Avernus then magically sealed the cut and wordlessly slid the knife across the table to Leto, watching to see how she reacted.

Leto's behaviour was similar to how he predicted; as soon as he dripped his blood onto the knife, Leto immediately focused her attention on it, her pupils dilating ever so slightly. She sniffed the blood twice then grabbed the knife, bringing the blade up to her mouth. Her tongue darted out and licked up the blood in one stroke.

"So…you want more, don't you?" Avernus asked, speaking at last. Leto looked up at him, pupils still dilated, and nodded twice, then looked down again, cheeks reddening in embarrassment.

"That's _really_ not good," Avernus said worriedly before turning to his grandfather. "Well, it appears we've found out what's wrong with Leto," he said in Cyrodiilic.

"I'll get your grandmother then," Julius replied before standing and leaving the room.

"What's wrong with me? Tell me!" Leto demanded.

"You've somehow contracted vampirism and apparently the transformation is either complete, or nearly complete," Avernus informed her.

"What's that? And what's this transformation?" Leto queried, a very strong note of worry apparent in her voice.

"It means you've become a vampire, which is a sort of semi-mythical, parasitic being," Avernus explained, "I don't really know much about them and it's hard to separate the facts from the conjecture and lies, but I'll tell you what I _do_ know. Vampires are parasitic in nature because they need to drink the blood of others. Without it, they die. They also have an aversion to sunlight, which you've already discovered. I know vampires have excellent vision and can see quite well in the dark, which might explain why you think everything seems brighter. That's really all I'm certain about."

All Leto could do was gape in shock. Drinking other people's blood? That sounded like the stories her people told of the "monsters" on the surface. How would she even get blood to drink? Obviously, going around killing people and drinking their blood was absolutely out of the question, but if she didn't drink, then Avernus said she'd die. She already felt incredibly thirsty and that small taste of blood Avernus had given her was driving her crazy. Her new vampiric instincts screamed at her to get more; her body _craved _it, which particularly frightened her. What if she lost control and hurt someone? What would happen to her then? It was a frightening thought.

And then there was her apparent vulnerability to sunlight. She could already notice the skin of her hand turning pink. What could she do about that? Would she be confined to the house all day long until the sun set, allowed only a couple short hours of time outside before everyone went to sleep? How would she live like that? What a horrid, dreadful existence vampires must have!

"Is vampirism reversible at all?" Leto asked, desperately hoping for a positive answer.

"I very much doubt it," answered Avernus, and with those words, Leto's hope was destroyed. She buried her face in her hands.

"I'm so sorry, Leto," said Avernus, "I promise I'll try and help you with this as much as I can."

"How?" Leto asked.

"I'll learn more about vampirism and what I learn, I'll pass on to you," he replied, "Hopefully that'll help you to adapt."

"Thank you, Avernus. But how did I get this in the first place?"

"Hmm. According to popular stories and folklore, you have to be bitten by another vampire, but obviously you weren't, so the proximal cause must be something different. I'd guess a transfer of some bodily fluids, perhaps..." Avernus was thinking aloud, but suddenly, it all made sense. "I know! The man you were fighting when Heinrik's caravan got ambushed in the night, the one I immobilized for you. Did he seem stronger or faster than normal? The vast majority of the stories agree that vampires possess speed and physical strength far above those of an ordinary person."

"Yes!" Leto exclaimed, that made sense, "He was _very _fast. Even though he only had one sword, he still countered all my attacks and struck back before I could recover. I _know_ he got some of his blood on me. Bastard!"

Julius and Vesta returned at that moment and sat down at the table. Vesta turned to face Avernus, looking not at all pleased. "So Leto's a vampire?" She asked, receiving a nod in response. "Explain," she demanded.

"When we were travelling here with Magnhild's caravan, we got attacked and one of the assailants' infected Leto by getting his blood into her wounds," Avernus explained, "The transformation must not have been complete when we arrived, since Leto's vampirism only manifested itself this morning."

Vesta sighed before she spoke again. "I'm not mad, Avernus. You didn't know. But I'm worried about the family's safety," his grandmother explained, "Vampires are dangerous. What if she's unable to control her thirst for blood and harms one of us? I'm not saying she'd intentionally try to cause us harm, but if she loses control of instincts, then her intentions will be irrelevant. What then?"

"I'm worried about this too, grandmother, but I'm confident that this won't happen," Avernus replied.

"How are you sure?" Vesta inquired.

"I'll go see if I can find any books on vampirism so that we can learn more about it and how it will affect Leto. From there, we'll be able to determine the best course of action to take so that Leto's thirst will never become a problem. In the meantime, I can use magic to quell her urges, should they grow out of control, and should that fail, I can always telekinetically restrain her. Will that work?"

"For now, I suppose," Vesta replied, "But since you brought Leto here, and you seem to be the one best able to control her, Leto will be _your_ responsibility, Avernus. You make sure her vampirism doesn't become a problem."

"Of course, grandmother," acknowledged Avernus.

"I'm sorry, Avernus, I'm not trying to be harsh with you, I'm just very concerned for all of our safety."

"I understand, grandmother, and I'm not upset. I'm worried too, but I'll handle it."

"Good," said Vesta, "Ask her how she is." Obeying his grandmother's command, Avernus turned back to Leto and spoke.

"How are you feeling, Leto? How is your thirst?" he asked in Falmeri, "Do you feel that you'll be able to control your urges?"

"I'm _really_ thirsty, but I can still control myself," Leto replied, "But what can I do about it? How can I get blood without hurting or killing someone? Is that even possible?"

"I don't know," answered Avernus, "But this is why I asked if you if you felt in control. I need to leave to see if I can find any books on vampirism so we'll be better equipped to deal with…well, your vampirism. I won't be able to help you control your urges while I'm gone, and you won't be able to come with me since the sun's out. So you're _sure_ that you`ll be fine on your own for a few hours?"

"Yes, I'll be fine," Leto confirmed.

"Good. I'm really sorry about all this, Leto."

"Don't be," Leto said, offering the first smile she'd given all morning, "This isn't your fault, and you couldn't have foreseen this. I'm just glad you're trying your best to help me through this."

"As if I would even _consider_ not helping," remarked Avernus.

"Well thanks anyways."

Avernus smiled back before turning back to his grandmother and switching to Cyrodiilic once more. "She'll be fine, she says. I'll go out and see what I can find right after breakfast," he informed her.

"Good. I'll come with you," said Vesta.

"I'll come up with an excuse to get the children out of the house for a while," spoke Julius, "I'll also tell Sylva. If there's no one at home, and Leto can't leave, then there's no chance for anyone to get hurt."

"Excellent idea," his wife exclaimed with a clap of her hands. "So it's settled then. Come find me when you're done, Avernus, and we'll leave then."

Avernus's grandparents then got up and exited the kitchen, leaving Avernus and Leto alone together. Avernus reached over and pushed Leto's breakfast out of the sunlight for her and the two began eating their meals. Once Avernus finished, he told Leto he'd translate some more pages into Falmeri for her to practice her reading so she'd have something to do while he was gone. The task took some time, but eventually Avernus had translated enough to keep Leto busy for hours. Once completed, he returned downstairs, bade Leto a warm farewell, and left the house with his grandmother.

Hopefully he'd be able to find some useful information on vampires, thought Avernus as he set out down the streets with his grandmother. If not, then Leto's situation would be that much worse than it already was.

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><p><strong>Yay! Plot development! I actually had Leto's vampirism planned for a long time and I hope I've made it convincing enough for you. Also, starting next chapter, we'll begin to see how the events of the world at large start affecting the story (for example, the civil war, and some of the other questlines). I'll try and make them more realistic, though, so I'll be changing them slightly from how they occur in the game. Anyways, that's all for now, and as always, let me know what you thought of the chapter. I value your opinions and would greatly appreciate it if you left a review! Thanks for reading. Goodnight, and take care ^_^<strong>


	12. Chapter XII

**Sorry this took longer than usual. The ending was kinda tricky to write, and it's definitely worth an MA rating. Yes, that's right, fanfiction, MA. Deal with it.**

**Enjoy the chapter!  
><strong>

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><p>"Your father should be coming home tonight," Avernus's grandmother remarked as she strode down the street next to Avernus, "He'll definitely be in for a surprise tonight; first he finds out his adoptive son is still alive, then that you've brought home a woman from a supposedly-mythical race of monsters, and finally that said woman is also a vampire. I'm almost dreading his reaction."<p>

"Perhaps he'll end up on your table from his heart giving out," Avernus joked, which prompted a bout of chuckling from Vesta.

"Whatever his reaction, I'm sure it'll be memorable," she replied after composing herself, to which Avernus hummed in agreement.

The two continued to make their way through the city, gradually moving away from the Wind District and towards the Plains District where the large markets were located. However, as the pair crossed onto one of the main boulevards of the city that led directly to the markets and eventually to the city gate, they were greeted with the sight of numerous groups of imperial soldiers scrambling to and fro. Some groups were relatively small while others were larger, but all seemed to be moving supplies through the city. Most were pulling small handcarts loaded with sacks whose contents Avernus could only guess at, but every now and then, Avernus and Vesta saw a group of legionaries escorting a horse-drawn wagon loaded with crates and barrels. Avernus and Vesta wondered what the cause of this might be. Just yesterday, there had been no Imperial military presence in Whiterun, and now legionaries were swarming the boulevards, it seemed.

As Avernus and his grandmother continued down the boulevard, the concentration of Imperial soldiers gradually increased, until they came to a small square. Whiterun's civilian traffic kept to the sides of the streets, allowing the Imperials and their cargo access to the centre of the roads, and no one stayed to loiter in the square, which seemed to be taken over by the legionaries. In the centre of the square, a desk was set up, behind which two officers sat who seemed to be directing the traffic of legionaries. Avernus and his grandmother continued on their way towards the markets.

"What do you think the reason is behind all these imperial soldiers in the city?" Avernus asked his grandmother as they continued through the city.

"They're probably preparing for a siege, from the looks of it," Vesta remarked, "Look at all the supplies they're stockpiling."

"You're sure they're not just establishing a presence in Whiterun to give them a base to operate out of?"

"I doubt it. If they were setting up a base of operations, they would probably do so outside of the city where there wouldn't be any civilian interference."

"Good point."

"Besides, there have been rumours of the Stormcloaks preparing to assault Whiterun. Of course, they're only rumours, but the legion's activity here seems to back them up."

"That would make sense," mused Avernus, "Yet, you don't seem particularly worried."

"Well, I am a little but mostly I'm not," his grandmother replied, "The Stormcloaks are insurgents accustomed to fighting using guerrilla warfare tactics. They'll be facing an Imperial legion, a highly trained and disciplined unit of professional soldiers, in conventional warfare. I'll be surprised if they manage to breach the walls, let alone take the entire city. Our home should make it through unscathed."

"That makes sense," remarked Avernus.

The two reached the markets soon enough and began hunting through book stores for anything relating to vampirism. As was the case with most of the large cities of Skyrim, since a significant proportion of the population was illiterate, bookstores tended to be fewer and further between than most other types of stores, and Avernus and Vesta only managed to discover a small handful of them. Still, the pair spent several hours inquiring to the stores' respective owners about books pertaining to vampirism and thoroughly examining the books that turned up. The vast majority of books turned out to be fictional stories with vampires as the stereotypical antagonists incapable of being anything other than pure evil. Avernus bought none of these books; he was already familiar with the stereotypes and didn't need poorly written novels to whose accuracies were highly suspect. In the city's final bookstore, Avernus found a non-fictional work on vampires at last, but it only consisted of a single entry in an encyclopedia that only told Avernus what he already knew: that vampires needed to feed on blood to survive, had an aversion to sunlight, _et cetera_.

Sighing in frustration, Avernus put the encyclopedia volume back on the shelf and exited the shop with his grandmother, making his way back home in defeat. What would he and Leto do now? They were no further with finding out how to deal with her vampirism than before. How would they get blood for Leto to drink without harming people? That was the major problem, and it had to be solved quickly, otherwise Leto might accidentally harm one of his family members. But how was she _right now?_ Had her thirst worsened in the past several hours since she was left alone in the house? Would she still be in control when they arrived back home? So many thoughts and worries were running through Avernus's mind that he was beginning to sweat from the stress and anxiety it caused him.

It was mid-afternoon by the time Avernus and Vesta arrived back at the house. They found that all the windows had been closed and the curtains draped over them, obviously to keep the house as dark as possible for Leto. Walking up to the door with Avernus, Vesta slowly pushed it open. The afternoon sun illuminated the central room somewhat, but it was still quite dark, and knowing that there was a vampire lurking somewhere inside, even if she _was_ Avernus's friend and meant no harm, gave the house a foreboding atmosphere.

As the two stepped inside, they caught sight of movement at the back of the room, near the doorway that led to the cellar, and Avernus was able to make out the form of Leto coming through the doorway.

"Hello, Leto. How are you feeling?" Avernus greeted while his grandmother went to open a couple more windows.

After Vesta closed the door and partially drew back the curtains of a couple windows, the light was strong enough so that Avernus could see more than just Leto's silhouette. In her claws was what appeared to be a dead rat, and there was a small amount of dark fluid spattered around her mouth. She didn't immediately respond to Avernus's question, instead just standing in the doorway and staring back intently, her tongue darting out to lick the blood around her moth from time to time. Avernus had to admit that when Leto looked at him like that, he actually felt _scared_ of her. Had she lost control? Had her thirst driven her mad? What if she tried to attack him? He was sure he'd be able to restrain her with his magic, but he didn't want to have to find out. Thankfully, he wouldn't have to, as Leto broke her intense stare, dropping her gaze to the floor, and spoke.

"I'm not myself," was all she said, her voice mostly flat but laced with a hint of worry. Meanwhile, Vesta had gone over to the hearth and started preparing a fire.

"How so?" Avernus asked as he limped over to one of the upholstered benches and sat down. Leto joined him, wrapping a cloth around the dead rat and setting it down on the floor. For several moments, she was silent.

"I…It's the thirst; it makes me want blood, it's all I can think about!" Leto suddenly exclaimed and all of a sudden words came pouring out of her, and she got up and started pacing restlessly around the room. "Drinking blood! I feel like such a freak! Like one of those tacky monsters from children's stories! And it's not just drinking blood; every other impulse I have seems magnified! But the thirst makes everything confusing too! I look at you, and I can _hear_ the blood in your arteries and I want it _so badly_, especially after already tasting it – the taste of rat blood is completely unsatisfying, by the way – but I like you and I care for you, and I want to hug you, feel you, kiss you, I want you to enjoy our contact and if I hurt you I would despise myself! It's so confusing and difficult and _scary_. And I keep pacing! I've been pacing all day! I feel so restless, full of energy, like a coiled spring. I want to run, jump, fight; I need to _do_ something, and it makes _not_ doing anything to _you_ that much harder! It's just so…Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"

Stopping to grab a cushion, Leto screamed in frustration and anger as she hurled it with all her considerable, newfound strength into a wall. Vesta, who had taken note of Leto's uncharacteristic pacing and rambling, now looked on in visible fright. Leto's self-control was obviously deteriorating and the old woman feared for her safety, as well as her family's, but she trusted in her grandson's ability to keep her under control. Still, she couldn't help feeling on edge.

"Tell me you can help me, Avernus," Leto pleaded, "Tell me you found something today."

"Well, our trip proved futile, but-"

"Fuck!" Leto shrieked in frustration, clenching her hands into tight, shaking fists and barely resisting the temptation to punch something.

"_But,_" Avernus repeated with emphasis, "I might be able to help you with how you're feeling."

"How?" Leto frantically implored.

"I'm not sure if your people are familiar with it or not, but there exists magic that allows the practitioner to manipulate the minds of others," Avernus began, "I'm fairly skilled in this magic and I'm sure I'd be able to block these urges for a time. However, this would only be a temporary measure, since attempting to suppress these urges for extended periods of time can cause damage to your mind, not to mention the fact that these urges exist for a good reason and are manifested as a useful function of your body. Would you like me to attempt this?"

"Yes! If it helps me get back to normal, then do it!" commanded Leto as she returned to her seat on the bench next to Avernus.

"Alright then. Give me your hands, and whatever you feel, don't resist it," instructed Avernus, as he took both her hands in his own.

For Leto, the contact intensified her impulses even more, and she really had to struggle to contain her urges to tear into Avernus's flesh and get at his blood. However, she soon felt the tingle of active magic in the air, and slowly, she felt a foreign presence enter her mind. It was strange, at first it was just an odd feeling, something amorphous and uncertain, but as Avernus worked her magic, the foreign presence in her mind gradually coalesced into a singular, definite entity. It felt strange, _wrong_, and its very presence within her mind prompted a new urge to punch Avernus in the face to get whatever this foreign entity was _out _of her head, but she knew that she needed to cooperate, and she clamped down on this new urge as well, with no small amount of effort.

She soon felt the entity grow and expand as it reached out across her consciousness, probing the different parts of her mind and getting a feel for how it worked. This caused feelings of indignity and vulnerability, and this time, Leto couldn't stop herself from striking back. Physically, she made no move, but mentally, she threw herself against the entity, resisting its advances and trying to force it to retreat. At first, it recoiled slightly, but hardened itself and brushed her mental assault aside as easily as a grown man bats away the fist of a small child.

Leto felt the entity expand in her mind some more, this time in the direction her mental attack had come from, and soon she found the feelings of unease and hostility its presence inspired start to diminish as the entity effortlessly suppressed them. That particular tendril of the entity then began to retreat, leaving in its place some sort of barrier that Leto could feel that kept the feelings of hostility at bay. It was strange; she was aware of these feelings still within her, yet she didn't feel driven or compelled by them. With these feelings contained, she then began following the entity's progress with curiosity.

She felt the entity move towards the aggressive feelings of her consciousness and suppress them with the same ease with which it had suppressed the unease its presence inspired in her, before erecting another barrier to keep the aggression in check. Following this, the entity moved on directly to the thirst itself and all the myriad smaller accompanying feelings which urged Leto towards action. These too were quickly suppressed and contained, followed by the entity retreated and moving on to other parts of her mind.

It was a very strange experience for Leto. It was as if all the unusually strong feelings and urges that had been clouding her mind had been subdued, preventing them from overshadowing her intellect and who she was as her own person. She could still feel these impulses and feelings and the thirst, but she was no longer _compelled_ by them and it allowed her to act much more rationally again. She still wasn't like her old, pre-vampirism self, but she was a lot closer now with Avernus's interference and she couldn't help feeling a sense of gratitude flow through her. Much to her delight, she felt the entity exude a sense of altruistic joy in response to her gratitude before it began to disperse and withdraw from her mind. Soon, it was gone altogether, along with the tingling of magic around her, and her attention was brought back to Avernus, sitting next to her and still holding her hands.

"Feeling better now?" He asked with a smile.

"_Much_ better," replied Leto, "I feel so much calmer now, almost like normal. Thank you so much, Avernus. Before, it felt like I was going insane."

"It certainly seemed that way; your outburst frightened my grandmother," Avernus chuckled, "I'm happy I was able to help."

"I'm so sorry! Tell her I feel much better now," Leto instructed. Avernus obeyed and spent a minute relaying the news to Vesta in Cyrodiilic before returning his attention back to Leto.

"I need to know, though: did the rat's blood help your thirst at all?" implored Avernus.

"A little," Leto admitted, "I still feel really thirsty, but it helped a bit."

"Okay, that's definitely some good news," replied Avernus, "That means that you can survive off non-human and non-elven blood and so you won't have to hurt anyone to survive."

"But how will I get it?" queried Leto, "There aren't many animals in the city and I can't go stealing blood from the ones that people own."

"Good point," Avernus conceded, "Hmm. Perhaps tonight after the sun sets, you and I can go outside the walls of the city and beyond the farms that surround it. There should be plenty of animals in the wilderness, and once the mental blocks are removed, you'll have plenty of space and no one around when you figure out how to…uh, satisfy your urges, I suppose."

"No one except you," countered Leto, "What if I hurt you?"

"I can protect myself, even from you if I must, but I doubt it'll come to that," Avernus replied.

"How can you be sure? Even _I'm_ not sure."

"Because I trust you," Avernus gave her hands a small squeeze and smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring manner.

"I guess that's the best option I have," Leto conceded after a moment's silence, "Thank you Avernus. I really appreciate your help."

"Happy to give it," came his reply.

Following their conversation was a brief period of silence. Vesta had successfully gotten a fire going in the hearth and had started brewing a pot of tea over it. Avernus and Leto were content to sit in silence, still holding hands, and merely enjoyed the presence of the other. Since the curtains were still mostly drawn over the windows, letting in only a small amount of light, the fire of the hearth lit up the room in a warm, orange glow. As Vesta poured the tea, Avernus told her of his plan to leave with Leto at dusk, which was met with approval. Telling his grandmother what Leto had told him regarding the rat blood she drank, the two began discussing methods of obtaining animal blood for Leto, should their nighttime excursion prove beneficial. After discussing several possible ideas, Vesta suggested making a deal with one of the ranches that supplied meat to the city. She argued that they would have a near constant supply of blood from the animals they butchered, and to divert suspicions, she could make the deal through the family's alchemy shop and claim that the blood was useful for a specific potion. The plan seemed feasible enough to Avernus, seeing as the majority of people wouldn't know enough about alchemy to be able to contest the claim.

Over the next couple hours, the rest of the family returned from their various excursions and soon enough, the house was packed again. Retreating with Leto to his room, Avernus spent a great deal of the remaining day helping her with her reading and, soon after, beginning her lessons in Cyrodiilic and Nordic. Leto's reading skills had advanced quickly in just a few days and she managed to learn and memorize the two new alphabets fairly quickly. Having already seen the curvy letters of the Cyrodiilic script, which Avernus had told her was called Nedic, Leto memorized it after only looking it over once. The Nordic script looked entirely different; however, despite her unfamiliarity with it, it only took Leto a couple extra minutes to memorize it. Avernus had told her that the Nordic script was called Futhorc, and the individual characters called runes rather than letters. An interesting aspect of the script, Leto noticed, was that all the runes consisted exclusively of straight lines. Avernus explained that it had been originally developed for carving into wood and stone and other hard surfaces, which explained why it lacked curved lines.

Once Leto had memorized both scripts, Avernus began teaching her the actual languages. Now she could appreciate why Avernus taught her to read first. Most of the time, Avernus would teach her verbally, but he would also frequently make use of writing, and Leto found that learning language through two media helped her learn the language more quickly than when Avernus only used speech to teach her.

However, for Leto, as much as she enjoyed learning surface languages from Avernus, the day's activities and events couldn't seem to pass quickly enough. She was both looking forward to and dreading her excursion outside the city walls with Avernus, and her mind frequently wandered to the subject. She would finally get the chance to act as her newfound instincts (normally) compelled her to and would become more familiar with her body's new strengths and needs, but then, recalling how powerful her new instincts were, she also feared that she might not be in full control of herself once Avernus restored her mind to its natural state and removed this artificially established calmness that she felt. The one thing Leto was certain of, however, was that the events of tonight would be fundamental in helping her come to terms with her vampirism.

As her mind wandered ever more as the sun continued to set painstakingly slowly, Avernus decided to stop the lesson and call it a day. He wasn't disappointed since he too was anticipating their excursion, and even though Leto's attention had been waning during the last half hour, she had still made excellent progress for her first day of learning two new languages.

Heading downstairs with Leto, Avernus found his mother and Magnhild sitting on the benches by hearth conversing. As he and Leto joined them, their conversation died down quickly and their attention turned to the newcomers.

"So, Father says that Leto is a vampire," Sylva stated, after making sure her other children were absent from the room, while looking at Avernus expectantly.

"Uhh…yeah," came Avernus's articulate reply, "That's what the rush to get out of the house was about this morning. Leto thought she might not be fully in control of herself, and we didn't want to risk anyone getting hurt; that's why Grandfather took the twins out and asked you two and Cassia to go find something to do."

"She looks like she can control herself just fine though," Avernus mother responded.

"That's because I set up mental blocks to keep her thirst and other vampiric instincts at bay for now," explained Avernus, "Once I remove them, she'll barely be in control of herself, like how she was when Grandmother and I came back from the shops, probably a bit worse, even. Hence our excursion tonight, so Leto can grow accustomed to her vampirism without anyone around to risk hurting."

"Except you," Sylva countered.

"I'm perfectly capable of defending myself against one woman, mother," insisted Avernus.

"I know you are, but I worry anyways," Sylva replied as she wrapped an arm around her son, "How can I not, now that you've come back to me and in such a condition, no less? Falmer ambushes, bandit attacks, dragons, mercenary ambushes and now a vampire; when did your life become so dangerous?"

"Good question," Avernus chuckled, "But I promise that I'll be perfectly alright."

"Forgive me if I'm not easily reassured."

"When did this even happen, anyways?" interjected Magnhild, "The first time we met was in broad daylight and I've seen her in daylight nearly every day since then."

"You remember the man Leto was fighting the night we got ambushed by those mercenaries?" asked Avernus.

"Yeah, I remember the bastard," replied Magnhild, "Why? Was he the one who infected Leto?"

"We think so," answered Avernus, "It would explain his apparent superhuman speed, and when he was killed, we know that some of his blood landed in Leto's wounds. It's the only explanation I can think of that makes sense."

"That _does_ make sense I guess," Magnhild conceded.

"And the children," said Sylva, "Will they be safe around Leto as well?"

"Yes," Avernus replied immediately, "That's the point of our excursion: for Leto to get her instincts under control. And I'll be monitoring her state anyways and can interfere to keep her under control temporarily, like I've already done this afternoon."

"Good. I suppose this is the best course of action to take then."

"It is," replied Avernus, "I assure you, I'm just as worried about all of us as you are, Mother."

"Well, I should hope so," she snorted.

There was a short silence before Leto asked Avernus a question. "Are you done talking about me now? It's really weird knowing you're talking about me, but not understanding what you're saying."

Avernus let out a laugh before answering. "Sorry about that. Well, Grandfather told Mother about your vampirism. I had to explain a few things."

"Ah, right. Well, I'm glad she didn't freak out."

"So am I," laughed Avernus, "I'm somewhat surprised everyone's been taking it so well so far. Who I'm _really_ worried about is my father."

"Why's that?" queried Leto.

"He's a native of Skyrim, and grew up in a traditional Nordic family," explained Avernus, "Which means he's firmly entrenched in Nordic folklore and traditions; distrust of outsiders, strong allegiance to groups to which he belongs, strict adherence to tradition and cultural mores, _et cetera_. He's pretty much the opposite of, say, the average citizen of the Imperial City, who has a more progressive outlook towards life. Father's the one who told us all the stories about how monstrous the Falmer are and so on. Apparently marrying my mother and living with us has softened him somewhat, but he's still fairly traditional. He's a good man and he means well, but he's difficult sometimes."

"Well then, now I feel _much_ better about meeting him. Thanks," replied Leto, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Didn't you say he's supposed to be coming back today? The sky's already darkening and he's still not here."

"That's what I was told," said Avernus, "There's usually a margin of uncertainty when estimating how long such expeditions take, so it's not unusual that Father's taking a bit longer than planned to come back. Maybe you'll get lucky and we won't have to deal with him until the morning, eh?"

Leto chuckled in response. "Maybe. But that'll only be delaying the inevitable."

"True enough," Avernus agreed.

The rest of the evening passed fairly quickly. Shortly after Avernus and Leto joined Sylva and Magnhild by the hearth, dinner was finished being prepared and the rest of the family moved on into the dining room to eat. Leto and Avernus remained sitting in the common room, however, as Leto felt reluctant to be near much of the family since her vampirism manifested itself_._ Avernus's family had taken her in and allowed her to live with them, despite the house already being crowded, and had shown her nothing but kindness and understanding. She felt like a parasite, feeding off their goodwill without contributing or giving anything in return, and with the emergence of her vampirism, her parasitism became a literal fact and no longer just a figurative description of her presence. It just felt _wrong,_ being around Avernus's family now.

The sun's light continued to grow dimmer and Avernus's father still had not returned. By the time Avernus and Leto finished their meals, the sun had dipped below the horizon, no longer posing a threat to Leto and thus permitting her unrestricted movement. Deciding to waste as little time as possible, the two set about packing supplies for their excursion immediately after their dinner; this didn't take long since Leto had left the satchel she brought initially from her home mostly unpacked, and soon enough, the two had departed, promising to be back later during the night.

Currently, the two had just left through the main gate and were heading towards the pine forests to the south of the city. Most of the farmland that supplied the city was located to the west where grasslands and prairie stretched on for miles, leaving little farmland between the city and the forest. Despite this, it took about an hour for the pair to reach the treeline after exiting the city gates anyways, even with Leto growing impatient, and carrying Avernus and running partway through.

Upon reaching the edge of the forest, it took another half an hour (with Leto still carrying Avernus, this time due to the uneven terrain lack of trails that would have slowed him down tremendously) for the pair to find a good spot to set up in. Since the forest south of Whiterun covered the foothills of a mountain range, the ground was fairly rocky and the pair found a sort of rocky turf overhang with a shallow, slightly upward sloping, cave-like mouth in a small clearing. After setting down the supplies and laying out a small canvas sheet, Avernus sat down and faced Leto.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

Nodding, Leto sat down next to Avernus and grasped her hands. Like the first time Avernus had used this magic, Leto felt a slight tingling sensation as the air around them was charged with magic, and that familiar presence once more entered her mind. Like before, it coalesced and expanded, spreading throughout her mind as it located the barriers it had set up. Leto would be lying if she said she wasn't frightened; she remembered the state she had been in before Avernus had magically restrained her, how close she had been to losing control, and now, after her urges growing stronger for the better part of a day, she feared what she might do once Avernus freed her instincts. As the entity in her mind spread, she felt it settle into position before each of the barriers it had erected earlier, preparing to dismantle them, but before it began, a thought entered her mind, and at first it was difficult to tell whether the thought was her own, or came from the entity, but the logical part of her mind told her it must have been the latter. _I trust you, my dear._ For a moment, she felt grateful that Avernus was trying to reassure her, but then the entity started removing the mental barriers, and Leto's mind was plunged into turmoil once more.

The first instinct to be released was her vampiric thirst. Having been building up all day without being satisfied, once the barrier was removed, Leto was overwhelmed with a nearly uncontrollable, carnal desire for the warm, coppery liquid. So strong was her need for blood that her stomach contracted and she was unable to suppress a whimper. The next barrier to be removed was the one keeping her aggression in check, and immediately upon its dissolution, Leto felt a surge of energy course through her, followed by a most pleasant chill sweeping through her body, urging her towards action. Following that, the entity, whose presence now began to feel intrusive and alien, began dismantling various other smaller barriers it had erected around her more primitive emotions that her thirst seemed to have augmented. Finally, the entity moved to the last emplacement it had left in her mind, a channel that amplified her sense of calmness and tranquility, and demolished it in the same methodical manner that it had demolished the barriers, before shrinking and receding from her mind, vanishing altogether within moments.

With the completion of Avernus's magical handiwork, Leto's mind was restored to its entirely chaotic state. Her thirst was the foremost instinct vying for control of her person, but the thirst had aroused and intensified numerous other conflicting instincts and feelings which all flooded her mind in a torrent of emotion that left very little room for rational thought. That logical part of her being had effectively been shoved into a small, unoccupied corner in the back of her mind, with very little influence over her person. Her mind became murky and muddled, and conscious thought became very difficult; all that was clear were impulse and need and desire, and an overarching urge towards action.

Leto's gaze turned towards Avernus, as if rediscovering his presence, and the chaos in her mind ramped into overdrive. Her instinctive aggression urged her towards action, and before she even knew what she was doing, she bared her teeth in a snarl and lunged at him, tackling him to the ground so that he was flat on his back while she pinned him in place and hovered over him. He occupied nearly all her vision and his scent filled her nostrils, causing many different impulses and emotions to clash against each other; staring at Avernus and inhaling his scent, she recalled the delicious taste of his blood on the knife earlier that day, but was also overcome with intense feelings of tenderness and affection, while still other feelings of arousal and desire surfaced to battle the others. She really didn`t know what she wanted to do to him more; sink her teeth into his neck and gorge herself on his vital fluids, press him tightly to her chest and gently caress him while whispering endearments, or tear his clothes off and fuck him senseless all night long.

Avernus was quite startled when Leto lunged at him, knocking him on his back and holding him down, but he managed to hide his surprise. As Leto hovered over him, he channeled raw telekinetic energy to his hands, but kept it in check, keeping it ready to be unleashed at a moment's notice should Leto attempt violence. But as Avernus gazed into her eyes, he wasn't so sure that she would; the sharp, piercing intelligence that he saw in her eyes just moments ago was no longer there, but instead of ravenous hunger as a replacement, Avernus saw confusion and uncertainty in her eyes as feelings and urges he could only guess at battled each other for dominance in the depths of her eyes.

Just as Avernus's certainty that Leto wouldn't attack was beginning to wane, Leto relinquished her crushing hold on him, jumped up, and darted away, disappearing silently into the forest. Sitting back up, Avernus began rummaging around in the bag for a blanket and a bit of food. Judging from Leto's state, they'd likely be out here for some time yet. Avernus was surprised that her thirst had become this strong over the course of one day, and was glad that they decided to make this excursion. If Leto was just barely able to stop herself from harming him, would she be able to stop herself from harming other people she didn't know or care about? Coming out here with her was definitely a good idea, he thought as he procured a bit of bread and cheese while making himself more comfortable.

Leto, meanwhile, was prowling through the pine forest, steadily moving away from the small overhang that Avernus was waiting in. She didn't take note of where the clearing she left Avernus in was in relation to other distinguishing features of the forest, but she didn't need to; she could just follow his easily distinguishable scent back.

As Leto moved through the forest, she, at first, wasn't searching for anything in particular, but as she continued on, she eventually picked up a most welcome scent: people! Leto knew she wasn't supposed to hurt people, that she was supposed to feed on wild animals instead, but she couldn't help it; the scent was just too inviting! She'd just have a look, that's it. Just see who these people were before finding some animal to feed on. Yeah, that's all, she told herself.

Creeping between trees, over fallen logs and around bushes, Leto silently followed the welcoming scent until eventually she could start to hear voices. They weren't far off now. Continuing on, Leto crossed a stream before coming to the edge of a small road a couple minutes later. Stepping out into the narrow road, Leto looked on to see torchlight off in the distance. She could make out three distinct flames. Curiosity augmented by her thirst urged her to investigate, and Leto found herself running after them. She wasn't scared of being sighted since there was almost no light from the moons, and she could easily stay beyond the light of their torches.

As Leto continued to stalk her prey, the trail began to wind towards the stream she crossed earlier and a rocky embankment quickly formed on the opposite side of the trail that the stream ran on, separating it from the rest of the forest. Leto then crossed the trail, scrambled up the embankment, and darted into cover on the other side, since the trail would soon edge right up against the stream and cut off the cover of the trees on the side she just came from.

Continuing to follow the men, but this time from an elevated position, Leto eventually caught up with them and was able to get a good look. The three men were all dressed the same, in a quilted leather gambeson adorned with blue cloth, with leather boots and gloves. Leto remembered the uniform; the men they fought in Helgen's keep, those Stormcloaks, wore this uniform. The mere memory of her last encounter with these men was enough to bring forth anger and loathing in her.

However, Leto was so singularly focused on the Stormcloak men below her that her awareness of her surroundings dimmed enough so that she failed to notice the approach of two fairly large creatures. The sharp crack of a dry twig behind her snapped Leto's attention back to her surroundings and she turned just in time to see two large wolves rushing straight for her. As one lunged for her, she managed to throw up her arms to block it, but the beast's momentum sent her tumbling down the incline with a shriek, her limbs entangled with those of the wolf. After rolling down several rocky metres of embankment and falling from a drop of a couple feet down onto the trail, Leto managed to throw the snarling creature off her and jump to her feet just in time to see the second one sliding down the embankment after them.

As the first wolf got back up and was joined by the second, they circled around her so that they were between her and the Stormcloak soldiers, who had just noticed their entrance and were beginning to draw their weapons. As the two wolves began to slowly advance, Leto adopted a low-set fighting stance with her arms spread out, flexed her clawed fingers, and bared her teeth in a snarl, in an attempt to look as vicious as possible. The wolves, however, continued to advance, not intimidated in the least, but it appeared as if she had frightened the Stormcloaks, who drew back from the wolves and her with looks of shock and fear on their faces. But at the moment, the wolves posed a greater threat than the men, and Leto quickly turned her attention back to the predatory creatures.

One of the wolves jumped up and lunged art her, but Leto managed to grab it by its throat, her long fingers allowing her grip to find purchase around its neck, but as soon as she secured her grip, the other wolf barrelled into her and knocked her over. Her grip on the wolf's throat remained iron-tight however, and she held its face away from herself, knowing that the wolf's largest threat to her was its teeth. The wolf that had knocked her on her back had clambered on top of her and made to take a bite out of her neck, but Leto balled her free hand into a fist and smashed it into the wolf's side, knocking it off her and breaking one of its ribs. Leto then picked herself up and wrapped both her hands around the throat of the wolf she still held, while keeping an eye on the other wolf. Shifting her grip so that the claws of her thumbs pressed against the creature's throat, Leto squeezed hard, puncturing its flesh with her claws. The wolf's angry snarls turned to tortured squeals and whimpers as Leto worked her claws in deeper and severed its carotid arteries. The dying creature's blood soaked her hands as she withdrew her claws and hurled its body at the other wolf, knocking it to the ground. She quickly ran over to the downed wolf and, before it could get up, brought her foot down hard on its neck with a muffled crunch as the vertebrae of its neck snapped like twigs.

With the threat of the wolves eliminated, Leto turned her attention back to the Stormcloaks, who stood paralyzed by a combination of fear and curiosity not ten metres away. Two had pulled out axes, while the man in the back had dropped his torch and had a drawn bow aimed at Leto. She glared back with malice in her eyes, daring the men to attack, as they stared at her with uncertainty and exchanged a few words in their harsh Nordic language.

Finally, the bowman released his arrow, which flew straight towards Leto, but she had been anticipating an attack and her vampiric powers granted her the speed and reaction time needed to dodge it. The other two men then rushed towards her, but their fear made them clumsy and uncoordinated. As one man swung his axe, Leto darted in close and grabbed the haft mid-swing, while pulling the man's dagger from his belt and jamming it into the side of his neck.

As the man gurgled and fell, the other man faltered in his attack, giving Leto more than enough of an opening. Before he could swing his axe, she launched a swift, powerful kick to his groin. As the man doubled over in pain, Leto then kneed him in the face, forcing him back up. She then grabbed the man, positioned him between herself and the archer, and sunk her teeth into his neck. The man howled in pain and tried to dislodge Leto, but the strength quickly drained from his body and he soon fell into an unconsciousness from which he would never awake. Looking up over the man's shoulder as she fed, she saw the archer drop his weapon, visibly trembling with horror on his face and fear in his eyes, before turning and sprinting in the opposite direction as if a horde of angry daedra were chasing at his heels. Leto didn't care though; he was no longer a threat and he wouldn't find her again, should he choose to return with more men.

Leto returned her attention to the now-dead man in her arms and the wonderful, life-sustaining nectar that was his blood. Leto's jagged teeth had torn a gaping wound in the man's neck and the blood flowed into her mouth without any effort on her part at all. The delicious, coppery taste and the soothing warmth of the blood was exactly what Leto had been craving, and she drank and drank until the flow started to diminish and she had to work to get the blood to come. She sucked harder and harder but soon the flow of blood shrank to a trickle, and this eventually shrank to nothing at all; she had drained the man completely of his blood. She let the corpse drop lifelessly to the ground before wiping her mouth and licking up the drops on her hand.

Even though her thirst was well-satisfied, the taste of the blood and its lingering scent were intoxicating, and Leto found that they awakened and reinforced other desires in her to the point that they were nearly as strong as the thirst had been, ensuring that logic and rationality still held little sway over her actions. Deciding that Avernus would help her, she turned, leapt over the stream, and began following his scent back to their little overhang.

Meanwhile, Avernus was still seated on the laid-out cloaks under the overhang. The perpetual aching in his leg had transformed into a sharp, needling pain that was impossible to ignore from all the walking he had done to get to the forest. He had tried massaging it at first, shortly after Leto departed, but that only seemed to make it worse, so he had simply moved it to a more comfortable position and brought out a leather flagon of spiced wine in the hopes that the alcohol might help to somewhat dull the pain, which was on its way to becoming unbearable.

By now, Leto had been gone for the better part of an hour. Avernus had drained half the flagon and his body felt lighter and harder to coordinate. He wasn't quite drunk yet, but he was certainly on his way, and the sharp ache in his leg had thankfully diminished somewhat.

As Avernus took another swig of the spiced wine, he noticed, out of the corner of his eye, movement coming from the bushes at the edge of the clearing. He heard nothing, however, since he had weaved his magic into a field of silence – similar to when he was escaping from underground with Leto – and anchored it using a glyph. At first, he thought the movement was due to a wolf or fox or something, but as suddenly as the movement had appeared, Leto appeared from the undergrowth, making her way towards him in long, determined strides.

"So how did it go? Feeling better now?" Avernus asked her once she crossed into the threshold of the magical field, but she completely ignored him.

As she approached, she tore off her shirt, nearly ripping it in her haste and revealing that she wore nothing beneath it. Avernus felt a surge of heat course through his body and settle in his groin as his gaze wandered down her chest and settled on her breasts. While not as generously endowed as a typical Nordic woman, the shape of her breasts was, in Avernus's mind, perfect, and for a moment, speech eluded him entirely.

"What are you-" he began to ask as Leto sat down next to him, but was interrupted when she straddled him (which thankfully didn't agitate his leg), pressed his body to hers, and crushed her mouth against his in a clumsy but passionate kiss.

"I want you," she declared once she pulled back from the kiss, her voice rough and husky.

He opened his mouth to object, but was once more silenced by Leto's mouth on his. So many reasons why they should _not_ do what Leto apparently desired came to mind. His crippled leg would hinder him; his body was weakened and was no doubt completely unattractive in his emaciated state; Leto was obviously not thinking clearly and she may not even be in control of herself; they were outdoors, completely exposed, and they could attract unwanted attention from whatever dangerous creatures roamed Skyrim's forests at night. But the feel of her tongue plundering his mouth and her breasts pressed against his chest made it difficult for Avernus to care as much as he should have. The wine he drank certainly didn't help his judgement either.

While Avernus was still in a dumb state of shock and surprise, Leto broke the kiss and, without disengaging herself from him, unfastened the belt of her Falmeri skirt, shifted her hips a little, and tossed the garment away. Now, completely naked, (for she wore nothing under the skirt either) she began grinding her sex against the erection that had quickly formed in Avernus's pants, causing him to let out a groan of pleasure. After going for so long without such intimate company from a woman, even before he was captured, the sheer pleasure of Leto's actions nearly undid him, and he found himself giving in to his desire.

Leto suddenly grabbed Avernus's head with both hands and tilted it upwards, forcing him to look her in the eyes. "You're not being very nice, making me do all the work," she said, before pushing his head down to her left breast. Avernus chuckled as he wrapped both arms around her, pulling himself closer, and latched on to her breast. He alternated between swirling his tongue around the hardened nipple and gently nipping it, and occasionally gave a weak thrust into her grinding, eliciting the most exquisite moans from her.

"Mmmm. Good boy," sighed Leto as she continued pressing his head to her breast, basking in the feel of his tongue lavishing her breasts and his shaft pressing against the apex of her sex. Of course, his clothing was getting in the way and she'd have to rid him of it, but it could wait for now. She'd squeeze as much pleasure out of him as she could before she had to move.

After several more minutes of stroking herself against the bulge in Avernus's pants while he sucked and licked and nipped her breast, Leto felt pressure building in her core and knew she was close to release. She dislodged his mouth from her breast and pressed it to her other one, before shifting her arms behind his lower back and pulling in time with her thrusts. The added force of her thrusts greatly increased the pleasure she received and, along with Avernus's ministrations upon her breasts, was enough to send Leto over the edge. She cried out in ecstasy as the pleasure exploded outward from her core and radiated through her body. The inner walls of her sex clenched tightly for a moment before releasing and clenching rhythmically, and she pulled Avernus tightly against her and pressed her folds against his clothed shaft as she rode out her orgasm. As the pulsating waves of pleasure gradually subsided, Leto was left gasping for breath as she held on to Avernus.

But she wasn't done yet. After a moment or two of catching her breath, she released Avernus and leaned back, grabbed the front of his shirt, and yanked it open. Buttons popped off and went flying and her claws ripped holes in the fabric as Leto ripped the shirt apart in her hasty attempt to remove it. Avernus grumbled as he extricated himself from the ruined piece of clothing, but Leto didn't care. She then pushed him flat on his back as she lifted herself up on her knees, hooked her claws beneath the hem of his trousers and into his smallclothes, and yanked them down to below his knees. He groaned in mild pain as her knuckles brushed against his mangled leg, and somewhere in the back of her mind, she felt guilty for hurting him, but mostly she wished that part of her would shut up so she could continue fucking him.

Avernus was now almost completely naked, save for his trousers around his lower legs. As she positioned herself over him, she paused for a moment to examine him. Even though he was recovering, he was still quite emaciated. His ribs still protruded and his biceps were still thin enough for her to be able to wrap her fingers around, though his abdomen wasn't quite as sunken in as before. Leto had to admit, his body wasn't particularly attractive, yet she found that her desire and arousal was in no way diminished.

Deciding she had stared long enough, she grabbed his neglected member and positioned herself so that the folds of her opening were just brushing the tip, giving her a delicious taste of what was to come. She then sank down in one swift motion, crying out in pleasure as she sheathed him entirely within her.

She then grabbed Avernus's wrists and placed his hands on her breasts before leaning forward and planting the heels of her hands on his bony chest as she braced herself and began rocking back and forth. Avernus fondled and kneaded her breasts, caressing her nipples with his thumbs and occasionally gently pinching them, and Leto couldn't help moaning from the sheer pleasure he brought her; indeed, his hands tended to her breasts as skillfully as his mouth. She continued to rock back and forth, delighting in the feel of his rock-hard shaft moving inside her.

Leto huffed in frustration when Avernus relinquished her breasts, placing his hands instead on her waist and gripping tightly, but couldn't help screaming in ecstasy when he began thrusting into her in turn with her rocking. In response, she began to push into him harder, further augmenting the intense pleasure she was receiving. Avernus's thrusting reached a frantic pace before his orgasm came. He grunted as he spilled his seed in her, and as more of the hot fluid filled her, his thrusts began to steadily decline in both speed and power. He gave a final, weak thrust before stopping altogether. His hands fell from her waist and his head lay back as he panted breathlessly and his heart pounded away under her hand.

But she wasn't done yet! She began rocking faster and whined in annoyance to recapture his attention. After a moment, Avernus, still panting, started playing with her breasts again and resumed his thrusting, causing Leto to squeal in delight.

As the pressure started to build in her core once more, Leto abandoned her rocking, instead lifting herself on Avernus's shaft and plunging forcefully back down in turn with his thrusts. She cried out from the increase in pleasure it brought as she continued to raise herself up and then slam back down. The increased movement of Avernus's member within her just felt so _good_ and within moments, she felt her walls clamp down on his flesh as she climaxed once more. She threw her head back and screamed as she resumed her rocking and ground against Avernus, delighting in the rhythmic, pulsing waves of pleasuring crashing against her very being.

As her orgasm subsided, Leto fell forward without lifting herself from Avernus's now-softening shaft and collapsing onto him. He grunted in discomfort before Leto wrapped her arms and legs around him and rolled them both over so that Avernus lay on top of her. With their heated love-making now over, Leto felt the chilly night air a lot more, and pulled the other cloak over her and Avernus. Feelings of bliss and lethargy washed over her as she lay basking in the afterglow of their sex and cradling Avernus in her arms.

She lay holding Avernus like that for quite some time. The seconds and minutes all blurred together and Leto quickly lost track of time. Her eyelids grew heavy, and very soon sleep was upon the two…

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><p><strong>Yay, sex! Finally! :D<strong>

**So that was my first ever attempt at writing a lemon, and I also have no experience to draw upon, so I had to do a little bit of...let's call it research. XD Hopefully it didn't suck too bad. Feedback would be very appreciated.  
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**I also had these last scenes planned for a while. I figure that for Leto, having been struck with vampirism so suddenly, all the urges associated with vampirism will be entirely new to her and she'll have had no experience in managing them, so they quickly overpower her and start branching out and affecting other, natural instincts and urges as well. Like the urge for sex. :D But really, this could explain why you hear sto****ries about vampires where they basically go nuts and wreak havoc, destroying villages and slaughtering people and so on, and why many people view them as animals and nothing more. That's basically how Leto was after Avernus removed the mental blocks he had placed in her mind. I hope I managed to portray this well enough.**

**Yeah, so let me know what you thought of the chapter! Reviews are loved and cherished. XD Unless you're a troll or flamer, then not so much. :P Anyways, that's all for now. Take care ^_^  
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	13. Chapter XIII

**Chapter XIII, finally. This chapter definitely warrants the M-rating I tacked onto this story, much more so than the last chapter. I felt quite emboldened by all the wonderful reviews on the last chapter, and wrote the majority of this in a few days, shortly after I published the last chapter. I might have gone a bit overboard, but that's for you to decide, and I'm not gonna scrap it and redo the whole thing. The reason it took so long is that midterms hit, my profs started churning out assignments like mad, and then round two of midterms hit. Also, Dishonored came out and a lot of my spare time went towards the awesomeness that is that game! But anyways, here it is! I'll stop talking now.**

**Enjoy your smut! :D  
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><p>The first thing Leto became aware of upon awakening was the solid mass her arms were wrapped around. As she slowly opened her eyes, blurred from sleep, she looked to see that she was holding Avernus. Her mind was still in that hazy twilight zone halfway between unconsciousness and alertness, and she briefly wondered why the bed felt much harder than normal. As more of her mental faculties came online, she began to grow more aware of her surroundings. She noticed how very bright it seemed, much brighter than it should be during the night, and she noticed that she and Avernus were both naked, and that his erect penis was pressed against her thigh.<p>

Her eyes widened and panicked gasp escaped her, realization jolting her into full wakefulness as the events of the previous night came flooding back to her with perfect clarity. After Avernus removed the barriers in her mind, she had almost attacked him, then left and stalked a trio of human soldiers, killed two wolves, murdered two of the soldiers and gorged herself on their blood, then returned to Avernus and practically raped him before passing out and sleeping away the entire rest of the night.

Judging by how bright it was, it was probably dawn, which meant the sun would be up very soon, but all Leto could think about were her actions last night. Now that she was in control of herself, and could think logically and use reason, looking back on her actions was all the more horrifying. It was as if her body had acted according to its own will, with her mind helplessly trapped and forced to watch. It wasn't _her_ that had done those things. Was this how she would be whenever her vampiric thirst overtook her, a mindless animal incapable of controlling itself? And what would Avernus think of her now? Had she destroyed their relationship before it had even begun? Both thoughts filled her with dread and terror, and a tingling chill swept through her body as the horror of her actions and their possible consequences settled into the forefront of her mind.

However, Leto had disturbed Avernus's slumber and he now shifted in her arms as he drifted towards wakefulness. A fresh wave of anxiety washed over Leto and she found that she couldn't bring herself to release Avernus from her embrace, for fear of drawing his attention sooner. What could she possibly say to him? What would he say to _her?_

Upon awakening, Avernus became immediately aware of two things: the first was the sharp pain in his leg, and the second was how badly he needed to piss. Of course, he very vividly remembered the delightful events of last night, and he'd definitely need to talk to Leto about it since she acted like a totally different person, but he had to tend to his body first and foremost.

As he extricated himself from Leto, the pain in his leg intensified sharply and a tormented grunt escaped him, and as the pain spread through his lower body, he felt the pressure in his bladder rise as well. Now he was beginning to wonder if all that wine he drank last night was such a good idea.

As he pulled off the one cloak that served as their blanket and reached over for his cane, preparing to lift himself to his feet, he noticed a small stain on the cloak beneath them, between Leto's legs. It was no doubt caused by a mix of their bodily fluids leaking from Leto during the night. Despite the pain he was in, he almost laughed at the sight; the situation he and Leto were in now was just so ridiculous.

As Avernus painfully pulled himself up, his attention was drawn to Leto and her unusual silence. Normally she would greet him as he woke up and help him rise to his feet (indeed, Avernus had become so accustomed to her assistance that rising on his own seemed considerably difficult just now), but as Avernus rose, she didn't move or make a sound. When he turned his gaze towards her, she immediately averted her eyes. He could understand if she was feeling embarrassed after last night, but her behaviour seemed to indicate something else, and that worried him. But he could talk to her in a few minutes; he _really_ needed to piss.

He turned and began painfully limping over to the trees and undergrowth that formed the threshold between their clearing and the rest of the forest. Of course, he was completely naked, but he didn't care. His leg was hurting too much to fiddle with trousers and smallclothes, and his shirt was destroyed anyways.

Once he finished relieving himself, he began his painful shuffling back to the overhang. By now, the sun had crested over the canopy of trees and bathed the clearing in its comforting light. Leto was safe though since the mouth of the overhang opened northwards and the earth therefore shielded her from the sun's rays, due to its more southerly position in the sky.

As Avernus entered the overhang, saw that Leto was now sitting cross-legged with a cloak draped around her shoulders. She was hunched over and staring at the ground, and was drawing shaky, gasping breaths through her mouth. Indeed, she seemed quite upset, and Avernus found that seeing her in such a state was beginning to deeply upset him as well.

Avernus carefully sat down next to Leto, to her right, and grunted in pain as he shifted his leg into a less-tormenting position. He then grasped the cloak she had draped around herself and pulled it back enough for him to snuggle up against her larger body and wrap an arm around her, before pulling the cloak around both of them. She didn't reciprocate the gesture, but neither did she recoil from it, for which Avernus was glad. He then grabbed her free hand, admiring the dark blue veins and thick tendons that stuck out prominently, and in his opinion beautifully, from the tightly wrapped skin on the back, before bringing it up to his mouth and placing a kiss on it.

"Why are you so upset, my beautiful Leto?"

"Because I'm a monster," cried Leto, "and I acted like one toward you last night."

"You most certainly are _not _a monster," rebuked Avernus as he caressed her hand, "Why do you say that?"

"Because I lost control," Leto wailed, "Didn't you see how I behaved? I raped you! And you know what I did to get blood? I killed people and fed on them! How am I _not_ a monster?"

"Tell me the circumstances," Avernus gently prompted, "We cannot judge until we have rationally examined the context, can we?"

"Of course that's easy for _you_ to say. _You_ weren't the one who killed people," Leto bit back.

"True," Avernus conceded, not in the least offended or taken aback by Leto's tone, "But nevertheless, let's hear it."

Leto was silent at first. She really didn't want to recall her actions last night, but after a moment of silence, she spoke. "I smelled people, and I couldn't stop myself from following their scent," she began, seemingly calmer now, "Once I caught up with them, I found out there were Stormcloak soldiers. But then a pair of wolves attacked me and knocked me from my cover, and after I killed them, the soldiers staring at me. They attacked, and I killed two of them."

"Well there you go then," Avernus announced cheerfully, "If they attacked you first, then I fail to see how you're at fault. They were the aggressors and you acted in self-defence. That's quite different from murder. You did nothing wrong, Leto."

"Yes I did," she countered, "They were scared of me, and I provoked them."

"Irrelevant," dismissed Avernus with a smile, "They were capable of making their own decisions. To blame yourself for provoking them absolves them from their own personal responsibility and denies their ability to act with free will. They attacked first, so _they _are at fault."

"I guess," Leto conceded, but not sounding entirely convinced, "Still feel like a monster though."

"Leto, the fact that you're this upset by your actions last night Is proof in itself that you're not a monster," declared Avernus, "A _true _monstergives no thought to the consequences of their actions, or else takes pleasure in causing harm. You are neither."

"I still raped you. How can you say I'm not a monster after that?"

"In case you hadn't noticed," snorted Avernus, "I participated rather enthusiastically in our love-making." The new subject of debate caused Avernus to recall the wonderful events of last night, and he felt himself hardening again.

"I didn't bother to get your consent first," countered Leto, "and if you refused, I would've fucked you anyways. To me, that's the same as if you _had_ said no."

By now, Avernus's organ was thoroughly engorged with blood. "Wow. You perverted little man," Leto declared in mild surprise after glancing at Avernus's lap, though Avernus detected a hint of amusement in her tone and he laughed in response.

"Arousal isn't always voluntary. It's a subconscious response, an autonomic reflex, and isn't indicative of higher thought processes. Well, not always" amended Avernus, "_Anyways._ I still don't believe you're at fault for last night."

"Why don't you?"

"Simple. I don't believe you were in full control of yourself," replied Avernus. "Do you think you were you?"

"No, I wasn't," Leto conceded.

"Then how can you be blamed for something you have no control over?" Avernus asked.

"Because I still did it," replied Leto.

"Did you?" countered Avernus, "Like you said, _you_ weren't in control, so it wasn't _you_ doing those things. It was the thirst that hijacked your body and made you do these things."

"That feels like a convenient way to absolve me of blame," remarked Leto.

"But it's valid, too," Avernus reassured her, to which Leto hummed in response, but didn't attempt to counter.

For a while, the two simply sat and said nothing. They leaned against each other, wrapped in each other's arms, and enjoyed the contact and feel of the other's bare skin against their own. They sat revelling in each other's presence, and as Leto gazed out at the clearing, with the blades of grass and tree leaves covered in dew and sparkling from the refraction of the morning sun's rays, she was overcome by intense feelings of gratitude and affection towards Avernus. To say that her vampiric condition and the situation she found herself in was terrifying would have been a vast understatement, but Avernus was going very far out of his way to help her through it as best he could, despite the risk she posed to him and his family, and not knowing any more than she did. She couldn't even begin to fathom how she would deal with her vampirism without him.

Back underground, the only people to ever show her such kindness were her parents, and they were long dead. Everyone else in her life was either indifferent, or else made it clear that they thought of her as filth, little better than the slaves and monsters on the surfaces. Avernus was the first non-relative to make her feel accepted, valued, and cared for. He made her feel like she was special, and _worth_ enduring hardships for (for what else could this ordeal be called?). Along with these feelings, Leto was struck with a realization: she loved Avernus. It wasn't just a fleeting infatuation, a superficial attraction that was the result of short-lived desire, for she had experienced those before, and knew what they were like. No, she _loved _him, she realized.

Leto pulled Avernus's skeletal body into a tight embrace for a moment following her realization, before releasing him, placing a hand on his chest and gently pushing to encourage him to lie flat on his back. He looked at her with confusion in his eyes, but complied with her nevertheless. Leto just smiled back before lying down on her side next to him and draping the cloak over their bodies. She then pressed her body against his, draping an arm over his chest, and kissed him. After last night, she was feeling a lot less shy than before. To her delight, Avernus reciprocated, probing her mouth with his tongue, while he slid his arm underneath and around her body to pull her closer. Unlike the previous night, their kissing wasn't frenzied or rushed. It was relaxed, almost lazy, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to them.

Leto eventually disengaged her mouth from Avernus's and, after draping one of her legs over Avernus's (the good one), began kissing a trail downwards, first on his chin, then down the side of his jaw, before making her way down his neck. Leto nuzzled his neck as she kissed, lingering there and inhaling deeply to fill her nostrils with his exquisite scent. Though she wanted only to show him affection and bring him pleasure, she found that she had to resist an urge to bite down on his neck. However, having thoroughly satisfied her thirst the previous night, Leto found that it wasn't hard to resist and didn't bother her at all.

As Leto kissed and nuzzled her way down his neck, Avernus couldn't help sighing in pleasure. Eager to reciprocate, he began rubbing her back with his one hand, and stroking her thigh with the other, caressing the skin and massaging the firm flesh, and was rewarded with a soft moan from her.

Leto lingered at Avernus's neck for a while, kissing and nuzzling and rubbing her face against it, before she resumed her downward journey. As she layered the flesh around his collarbones with kisses, she reached down, grasped his hardened shaft, and began stroking it, giving it a firm squeeze with each downward stroke. Avernus gave a sort of strangled grunt and his breathing became heavier from the sudden increase in pleasure Leto's actions brought, and Leto gave a delighted gasp when he pulled her tighter against him and his hand shifted from her thigh to squeeze and grope her rear.

Leto kissed her way down Avernus's chest until she got the end of his sternum, and then, still stroking him, looked up into his dark ruby eyes. "So if I agree to your logic," she started, "Then that would mean I haven't made love to you yet."

"Ngh, apparently not," gasped Avernus, reeling from the pleasure of Leto's hand stroking him.

"Then we need to fix that, hmm?" she purred. This time Avernus responded only by groaning and nodding.

Leto giggled and sat up, straddling his good thigh and causing the cloak to slide down her back. Still grasping Avernus's member, she smeared the pre-ejaculate onto her palm and wiped it on his shaft. Then, with her index and middle finger, Leto stroked herself a couple times until the digits were wet with her own arousal, which she then wiped on Avernus's shaft as well. She repeated this action a couple times until his shaft was thoroughly lubricated, and when she resumed stroking him, his skin slid against the flesh of her hand with very little resistance or friction.

"Much better," Leto smirked.

"If you keep, ah… you'll – ngh – finish me soon…" Avernus choked out between gasps. The pleasure Leto was bringing him was greatly augmented by the natural lubricants she had smeared on him and he instinctively began thrusting into her strokes.

"That's the plan," replied Leto as she flashed him a toothy grin.

Continuing to stroke him with her one hand, she inserted two fingers of her other hand deep into her sex and stroked her walls a couple times. She quivered from the sensation of stimulating herself, but abstained from going any further. Right now, this was about giving Avernus pleasure, and to that end, Leto withdrew her fingers, which were now thoroughly coated in her glistening arousal, and held them to Avernus's mouth, the tips of her claws brushing against his lips.

Avernus took her fingers into his mouth and began eagerly lapping away with his tongue, groaning as he did so, and making sure to lick up every last trace of her delicious, musky arousal. Once he was certain he had cleaned off her fingers completely, he withdrew them and placed chaste kisses on her bony knuckles.

As Leto continued her stroking and squeezing him, he began to feel the throbbing, pulsing waves of pleasure shoot through his member, slowly at first but quickly increasing in frequency and strength. Within seconds, his release came and he thrust into Leto's grip, his seed shooting forth in spurts and hitting Leto's breasts, due to the angle she had tilted his shaft and how far she was leaning over him. Leto smiled in joy as Avernus climaxed, and once he finished and his organ began to deflate, she collapsed forward until she lay atop him. She pressed her chest into his, smearing his seed against her breasts and his chest as she did so, and kissed him deeply and passionately.

When Leto withdrew, she looked into his eyes and smiled once more. "Did you like that?" she questioned, already knowing the answer but wanting to hear him say it anyways.

"Very much," answered Avernus, before he brought her in for another kiss. His tongue flicked against her teeth, and danced with hers once she allowed him access.

"You," he said once they parted lips again, "are a _goddess._"

Leto's heart throbbed upon hearing those words and she felt a gentle warmth radiate throughout her body. She pressed herself tighter against Avernus and began kissing nuzzling his neck. _Nobody_ had ever referred to her like that before, and hearing Avernus say such words made her feel treasured and cherished like never before.

"I love you," she murmured as she continued nuzzling and kissing his neck.

Avernus was momentarily shocked from hearing Leto say that, and he didn't respond immediately. She _loved_ him? On the one hand, he was delighted to hear her say that, but on the other hand, he was a little afraid to tell her his feelings. Years ago he had told a girl he loved her, and he got burned for it. After he recovered, he had retreated into himself and became overly cautious when dealing with his feelings and the possibilities for romantic relationships, which was probably why he was so miserably lonely for several years before he got captured. But Avernus realized that whether or not he actually said the words, his feelings for Leto were also ones of love. He couldn't deceive himself. He also realized that his fears were unfounded and irrational, since Leto already told him that she loved him. Perhaps there was still cause to fear, but it would only be uncertainty of what was to come for Leto and him in such a relationship that would be the cause, which was perfectly normal and reasonable, and not a fear of rejection.

"I love you too," he whispered in her ear as she continued her nuzzling.

_Of course,_ he thought lewdly, _it would be much more fun to _show_ her than tell her._

Avernus gripped Leto's shoulders and gently pushed, indicating for her to lift herself off of him. She complied and squatted next to him while he sat up and bent his legs into a more comfortable position. Avernus patted the ground in front of him and Leto obediently sat, wondering what he had in mind. He then wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a brief but passionate kiss.

"So," Avernus said as he looked deep into her stunning violet eyes, "How can I please my beautiful, loving goddess?"

"_Well,_" Leto began flirtatiously, grinning lasciviously and revealing her pointy jagged teeth which Avernus found so beautiful, before she leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "She loves it when you play with her tits."

_Sweet Mara, it's so hot hearing her refer to her body like that,_ thought Avernus. Indeed, he could feel himself already beginning to harden again. "Well, who am _I_ to deny you, then?" he asked as he brought up a hand and gave her right breast a rough squeeze while pulling her closer with the other hand. Leto gasped and threw her head back as Avernus began to massage the mound of soft, pliable flesh, squeezing and rubbing it, and running his thumbs over the nipple. While he continued his ministrations upon her breast, he began kissing her neck and collarbone.

"Mmm, that feels so _good_," she moaned as she leaned into Avernus's touch and caressed his head and back. As she relished his touch and focused her attention solely on the feel of his hand upon her breast, she let out another moan, which quickly turned into a whine of annoyance when she felt his hands release her and move under her arms.

"Up, on your knees, love," Avernus instructed as he pushed upwards under her arms gently. Leto complied and raised herself up from her sitting position and onto her knees, while Avernus remained sitting. She felt his arm wrap behind her and pull her close once more, and let out a delighted squeal when his hand returned to her breast, accompanied by his mouth on her other one. As he squeezed and groped her one breast, he sucked on the other one, caressing the nipple with his tongue and gently nibbling it from time to time. The sheer pleasure sent the most wonderful shivers coursing through Leto's body, and as Avernus continued worshipping her breasts, she cradled his head in her arms and peppered the top of his forehead with loving kisses.

After several minutes, Avernus released her nipple from his mouth and latched onto the other one. The hand the had been tending to it snaked around Leto's lower back to pull her close while his other hand came up to fondle the breast he had just released from his mouth. After all, it was only fair her give the same treatment to both of her breasts. Leto made the most delightful little squeaks and moans and all manner of noises that resembled the sweetest of music to Avernus, and she alternated between kissing his head and gently scratching and rubbing it with her claws as he continued pleasuring her.

Leto eventually dislodged her breasts from his hand and mouth after, sat back down on her heels, and plundered Avernus mouth with her tongue as she kissed him deeply. "As much as I enjoy your hands and mouth on my tits," she said once she broke the kiss, "You've been neglecting other parts of me that long for your touch."

"How right you are," Avernus replied with a lustful smirk on his face, before leaning in to steal one last kiss. He then encouraged her to lie on her back by placing his hands on her shoulders and gently pushing. Leto raised herself on her elbows to watch Avernus as he scooted backwards a couple feet, taking extra care not to jostle his leg, and leaned forward so that his head hovered just above the junction of her legs. There, he paused for a moment to gaze hungrily at her sex, puffy and glistening with arousal, and framed by curls as jet black as the hair on her head. It was as beautiful as every other part of her body.

Supporting himself on his left arm, Avernus looked into Leto's beautiful violet eyes, which were watching him intently, as he brought the index finger of his right hand to her glistening folds, causing her to gasp in delight. He very slowly began to brush his finger along the inside of her inner lips, down one side then up the other, and was rewarded with a delightful whimper from Leto. His light touch electrified her nerves, and as wonderful as it felt, it was also torturous how slowly he was moving and how little he was touching her.

After a couple more rounds of his cruel, feathery-light touches, Avernus finally inserted his finger into her opening, sliding it in all the way up to the knuckle and causing Leto to moan loudly. He then curled it upwards and stroked her walls as he withdrew the finger, before plunging it in again. He repeated the action several more times before adding his remaining finger in. The noises that Leto made poured forth constantly now as she whimpered and moaned and gasped in ecstasy.

Avernus then lowered himself further and placed his lips to the apex of her folds as he placed a small kiss on the little bundle of nerves he found there, causing Leto to moan louder as she gripped his head in her strong hands and held him there. As Avernus continued to stroke her walls with his fingers, he ran his tongue along the folds of her entrance, lapping at her arousal and pressing into the moist flesh. As Avernus continued his work, stimulating her from within and without, Leto collapsed on her back and began fiddling with her breasts. She had never had this done to her before and it was just so _good!_

As she was just beginning to feel pressure build up in her core, Avernus suddenly ceased his licking and removed his fingers from her. Leto let out a cry of frustration and brought herself up on her elbows again to glare at Avernus. He was looking at her with a devious grin on his face when he spoke.

"I have an idea. Look," he said as he held up his index figure, now coated in the fluids of her arousal. As Leto looked, she saw a tiny blue spark leap from the tip and flicker out of existence a couple inches away.

Leto's eyes went wide and she shivered in anticipation as she realized what he meant to do. Seeing her reaction, Avernus's smirk grew larger before he replaced his fingers inside her and resuming his oral ministrations upon her folds. Then all of a sudden, she felt an intense burst of pleasure shoot through her core and send shivers coursing through her body, and she involuntarily bucked her hips into Avernus's face as she screamed in ecstasy. He did it again as his fingers continued stroked her walls and again, an intense wave of pleasure crashed over her.

Soon enough, Leto was writhing beneath Avernus and was screaming loud enough to wake the dead when she climaxed. As her walls clamped down hard on Avernus's fingers, he released a continuous stream of sparks that combined with the throes of her orgasm and sent her reeling, feeling nothing but electrified pleasure and ecstasy in every fibre of her being. She clenched her thighs tightly around Avernus's head as she shook and convulsed from her explosive release.

By the time she came down from her climax, she was exhausted and left gasping for breath. That was, by far, the best orgasm she had ever had. Avernus had just demonstrated yet another wonderful application of his magic. As she looked up, Leto saw him cautiously crawling forward, always mindful of his leg.

Stretching her arms out towards him, she smiled and pulled him atop of her when he was close enough and crushed her lips against his in a passionate kiss. She could taste herself on his lips and tongue, and it was admittedly more arousing than she thought it would be. They continued to kiss, and Leto sighed in delight when she felt Avernus press the length of his hardened shaft against her. Avernus broke the kiss to look down and position himself against Leto's entrance.

He looked up to gaze into her eyes and saw nothing but love and affection in them. Sensing the question he held in his mind, Leto nodded and spread her legs, and Avernus pushed all the way into her in one smooth thrust. She gave a relaxed moan as he filled her, and bucked her hips into his to get him moving.

Avernus began thrusting into Leto at a leisurely pace, and Leto would meet him by bucking her hips into each thrust. Unlike when he was pleasuring Leto with his hands and mouth, there was no desperate, frantic need for release, and the two purposely moved slowly, gazing into each other's eyes and revelling in the feel of their bodies against each other. It was very relaxed and sensual.

As the two continued their gentle love-making, Leto's hands wandered and she ran them up and down Avernus's sides and back, over his shoulders, across his chest, and back up again. She felt mostly bone, but she didn't mind; she was content just to be able to feel him and know that he enjoyed her touches. Eventually though, her roaming stopped and her hands drifted down to his rear, where she grabbed a cheek in each hand and began squeezing in time with each of his thrusts.

On top of the wonderful feeling of being groped by the woman he loved, Avernus could also feel the tips of her claws pressing into his flesh in a most pleasurable manner. It wasn't painful in the least, and he found himself groaning from how wonderful it felt.

At one point, Avernus ceased his thrusting but remained buried deep inside Leto. "I want to try something I think you might like," he said before he kissed her. He flicked his tongue against her teeth to gain entrance, but when she opened, he pressed the tip of his tongue against one of her sharp teeth and, while still applying pressure, raked it backwards quickly. Avernus recoiled slightly from the pain, but recovered quickly and engaged Leto's tongue with his own. As soon as she tasted the blood, she moaned and began to assault his tongue furiously with her own. Meanwhile, she squeezed his rear, her claws digging into his flesh, to encourage him to get moving again. Avernus gladly complied, but soon had to break their kiss, gasping for air.

"You taste _so good,_" moaned Leto, before she crushed her mouth against Avernus's and resumed their unique manner of kissing with fervor. Kissing Avernus was already wonderful in its own right, but the taste of his blood mixed in greatly enhanced the pleasure she derived from it, and agitated some of her vampiric urges which manifested as added passion on her part.

Soon, she had wrapped her long legs around Avernus's waist, squeezing him in deeper with each thrust, and she pulled him more tightly against her with her arms. All the while, they continued to kiss, swapping blood and saliva, and Avernus's thrusting gradually increased in pace and intensity. Leto's moans grew steadily louder as Avernus continued thrusting, and her grip on him became crushing in its intensity.

Eventually, the two had to abandon their kissing in favour of being able to breath. Avernus wormed his arms underneath Leto and crushed their bodies together as he began thrusting into her with as much speed and force as his feeble body could muster. Leto's moans grew into full screams and soon enough, she felt her walls begin to pulse and contract. Feeling the walls of her sex clamp down on his member was enough to send Avernus over the edge, and he grunted as he emptied his seed into Leto, whose grip on Avernus became crushing as she climaxed and her claws began to dig into the flesh on his back. Avernus's groans soon turned into a cry of pain as Leto's claws pierced his skin before raking down his back, cleaving the flesh and forming eight searing trails as they went, as Leto rode out her orgasm.

Once Leto's orgasm passed, the strength seemed to drain from her limbs and they went limp, releasing Avernus from her crushing embrace. The after-glow of their mating was beginning to absorb Leto, and she felt light-headedly lethargic and happy, her senses dulled and thoughts incoherent.

As she wrapped her arms around Avernus, who had collapsed on her, Leto was surprised to feel something warm and wet contacting her forearms. The scent of fresh blood also reached her nose and she heard Avernus groan, but not from pleasure this time, and, with a gasp, she was immediately struck with the realization of what she had inadvertently done. She hastily scrambled out from underneath Avernus, who was now lying on his stomach, and crouched over him.

"Oh gods, I'm _so_ sorry, Avernus. I didn't mean to hurt you, it was an accident," she wailed. On his back, she could see two sets of four lightly bleeding tears about the length of her hand-span that began over his shoulder blades and ended just below.

"It's alright, Leto. I'm not upset," replied Avernus as Leto began to seal the wounds shut with healing magic.

Leto remained silent as she concentrated on healing the wounds she inflicted upon him, feeling to embarrassed and ashamed to respond. Once his flesh finished reknitting, there was a small puddle of blood left behind. Its smell was so delicious and despite the shame Leto felt from harming Avernus, even accidentally, she couldn't deny that she felt a desire to lick his back clean, which only served to make her feel even more ashamed.

When Leto didn't immediately move once she finished healing Avernus's back, he spoke up, humour evident in his voice. "Really, Leto? You're not going to clean me up?"

"well, I…" Leto trailed off, unsure of what to do. She wanted to lick the blood off his back, but it just felt wrong after since she had bled him in the first place.

"Go ahead, drink it," Avernus prompted, as if he could read what was going through her mind, "I know you want to."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Quite," replied Avernus, "Whether you meant to or not, it's already out. No sense wasting it."

"Well…alright then," said Leto, before she leaned down, positioning her face at the middle of his back, and began to lap at the blood on his back. The warm, dark liquid was, to Leto, the most wonderful thing she had ever tasted, and despite her earlier reluctance and shame, she was soon eagerly licking up the blood on Avernus's back. His blood had its own unique taste, different from anyone and anything else's in much the same way that his scent was unique, and Leto relished every drop she got.

Avernus also enjoyed Leto's attentions. He would be lying if he said he didn't find the feel of her tongue sliding across the bloodied skin of his back to be an erotic sensation. While it _was_ fairly painful at first when Leto clawed his back open, he had grown accustomed to far worse torments underground, and once Leto healed him with her restoration magic, the pain dissipated fairly quickly. Even with the wounds closed, the blood was still there and there was no sense letting it go to waste when Leto could use it. Pleasant shivers coursed through him with each stroke of Leto's tongue, and a comforting warmth radiated from her skin to his as she wrapped her arms around him while she fed.

Avernus's wounds didn't bleed much before Leto sealed them, so she finished her feeding fairly quickly. She then laid down next to Avernus, draped the cloak over them once more, and rolled Avernus onto his side so they were face-to-face and pulled him close, cleaving against him and pressing their bodies into one another.

Now that their love-making was over, the chill of the morning air was quite noticeable and as Avernus was still quite emaciated, the cold seeped into his bones very quickly. Leto, on the other hand, radiated heat from her body quite readily, and Avernus pulled her close to get as much of it as possible.

No words were spoken as the two held each other, foreheads pressed together and their eyes gazing into each other's. As with the previous night, their love-making left Avernus with a pleasant feeling of sluggish light-headedness, and he felt his eyelids begin to grow heavier once more. Leto must have felt the same, if her drooping, half-lidded eyes were any indication. But Avernus had no desire to fight it. He felt warm, comfortable, and safe, and a nap would help pass the time much more quickly. As his thoughts ceased, and he focused on the feel of Leto's skin against his as the warmth from her body seeped into his, unconsciousness quickly found Avernus.

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><p><strong>There we go, finally finished. I promise the next chapters will actually have stuff other than sex happening. My workload isn't as heavy as before either, so hopefully the next chapter won't take as long to crank out as this one did. Thank you to everyone who read, favourited, added this story to their alerts, and especially reviewed! Your support is very encouraging and I appreciate it immensely! Take care ^_^<strong>


	14. Chapter XIV

**July 16, 2013 Update: Sorry, this isn't actually a new chapter, rather it's just an announcement. Here's the bad news: I've discontinued this story (Please don't kill me!). Now the good news: I've started a rewrite of the whole story, and just posted the first chapter today. I wouldn't be so mean as to tell you this story is cancelled and not give you anything in return. Head on down to my profile to take a look.I hope you enjoy the new story as much as you've been enjoying this version.**

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><p><strong>I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed this so far, especially those faithful readers who I can depend on for a review after every chapter. I like to think I'm not a review-whore, but more often than I'd like, I find it difficult to get in the mood to write (partly why updates take so long, for which I apologize). Your continued support and encouragement helps tremendously, and I really appreciate it, so thank you all dearly!<strong>

**Now before I turn into a complete sop, on with the chapter!**

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><p>Avernus and Leto spent the remainder of the day napping, having sex, and teaching Leto Nordic and Cyrodiilic when not engaged in either of the first two activities. Since the sun's rays prevented Leto from leaving the cover of the tiny overhang, and Avernus was nearly immobile on his own in the forest's terrain, there really wasn't much else to do to pass the time. Surprisingly to Avernus, the sex was initiated much more often than not by Leto; now that Leto's lust was out of its cage, it wasn't going back in, apparently. Indeed, they didn't even bother to cloth themselves until night fell and they were ready to depart.<p>

After their second round that morning, Leto had confided in Avernus that she had never had sex like this before. When he asked for clarification, she told him that while she had had sex before, she had never once made love with someone. She said that every time she had had sex before, it was practically rape. Consent was given, but it was coerced and extorted from her by higher-ranking males in her society in exchange for not making her life even more miserable than it usually was. It was all about using her and selfishly trying to extract as much pleasure from her as possible, exploiting her like a resource to be taken and then discarded. But making love with Avernus, on the other hand, was beautiful. It was unselfish, and generous, and loving, she explained. She cared for him, and he her, and they tried to make the other feel the same pleasure they felt and their happiness brings joy to your heart.

As Leto explained her views, Leto's use of the word "rape" to describe what happened the previous night, and the anguish and guilt she had felt upon waking suddenly made much more sense to Avernus. In her eyes, she had become like the men who had abused her for their own pleasure, not only by not bothering to obtain freely-given consent before she set to work on him, but also by adopting their views and attitudes towards their sex, even if she wasn't in her right mind. Regardless of however brief, she had become like the men who caused her misery by acting and thinking like them towards the one man she loved. No wonder she was so upset upon waking, this morning.

Along with Avernus's realization came a very strong desire to console her. He wanted to reassure her that though she might have acted in a manner she didn't like, she hadn't hurt him like she had been hurt, and that he wasn't upset with her. He wanted to give her such joy and pleasure as to utterly drown out the guilt and shame she felt. He wanted her to feel loved and cherished, to know that she had his love. Avernus reached for Leto, and round three of their love-making began.

Of course, since the sun was up, Avernus had had to erect several additional wards to keep from being discovered by the variety of different creatures that were now awake and roaming the forest.

Their food was also running low as well. Avernus had only brought enough for one night, not expecting to stay for the next day as well, and had already eaten his portion last night. When he brought this up, Leto insisted that he eat her portion, explaining that he was still recovering from his starvation and that the loss of a meal would be less severe for her. Avernus tried to argue, but relented when she threatened to force-feed him if he kept it up.

However, it turned out that Leto wouldn't go hungry that day either. She had practically squealed in delight when a skeever walked into the clearing, unaware of their presence as a result of Avernus's wards. Leto had immediately shot it and then asked Avernus to bring it back for her. He complied with her request and inquired into how they would cook it, which prompted a bout of laughter from Leto in response as she told him that she had no desire to ruin the skeever by cooking it. As she stared at Avernus's confused expression, another illuminating conversation was started.

Avernus learned that eating raw meat was actually much more common among Leto's people than he had previously thought. Her society also ate cooked meat too, and Leto explained that they cooked some of their meat so that it would last longer, since raw meat spoiled much more quickly, but a lot of the meat they ate was consumed raw, and that raw meat was much preferred to cooked meat. Of course, being of a lower caste, Leto didn't get nearly as much of her meat raw as the upper castes got, and she was rather disappointed that it was practically unheard of on the surface for meat to be consumed raw, so when an opportunity to eat raw meat finally presented itself, Leto was ecstatic.

She dragged her kill over to the very edge of the cover provided by the overhang and shifted the cloak they had laid on the ground away so as not to soil it with blood and entrails (although by this point it was already stained with numerous bodily fluids from their frequent coupling and in need of a thorough wash anyways). Avernus had watched in fascination as she expertly skinned the dead skeever with her claws, and then sank her teeth into its throat afterwards to drain it of most of its blood. So excited about her opportunity was she that she went about her tasks completely unabashed, though Avernus wasn't repulsed or disgusted in the least by her actions anyways; it was always interesting observing the customs of another culture, and he was more curious than anything else.

Avernus had watched in fascination as she tore strips of meat off the skinned skeever, her sharp claws rending flesh from bone with ease, and greedily devoured them. Bones were pulled apart and organs were discarded as Leto continued to tear into the carcass, but Avernus noted that she saved some of the larger bones, which she later cracked open to suck out the marrow. At one point, she offered to share with Avernus, and he accepted a small morsel of the skeever meat, just to see what it tasted like raw, for he had never had meat uncooked before. While he had to admit it didn't taste nearly as bad as he thought, it was, however, a bit too chewy for his liking and he let Leto have the rest.

Of course, the Skeever was too large for Leto to eat all in one sitting, so when she was done, she set the carcass and the collected bones aside and nibbled on them over the course of the day. After her initial meal, despite draining the dead skeever of as much blood as possible, her hands were still quite bloodied. Instead of licking them clean, however, she had stared at Avernus with mischievous intent in her eyes before she had wiped them clean on his chest and stomach. He was about to cry out in protest, but was silenced when Leto had then begun licking and kissing the blood she had wiped on him, while stroking and caressing his sides and back. And so began yet another round of love-making

By this time, they had lost track of how many times they had done it. Leto had worn Avernus out fairly quickly and he eventually started taking up passive positions when they did it. Leto was more than happy to take up the dominant role, however, and Avernus found out that he quite liked it when the woman took charge.

By the time night fell, Avernus was thoroughly fatigued, despite the frequent naps, but Leto, possessing far greater stamina than Avernus and remaining cooped up for an entire day, felt like a coiled spring. Once they had clothed themselves (being more vulnerable to the cold, Avernus received the clean cloak while the soiled one was stuffed away into Leto's bag), Leto donned her weapons and bag and slung Avernus over her shoulder. Bursting with energy and curious to see how her vampirism affected her body's speed and endurance, she began sprinting towards Whiterun as soon as she cleared the forest and came upon the grassy plains that characterized much of Whiterun hold.

Leto and Avernus were both surprised at how quickly her body was capable of carrying them, as they watched her long legs quickly eat up the distance to the city. Indeed, Leto was so quick that it took her not even an hour to reach the city, whereas it had taken them over three hours the previous night. Of course, half the time spent getting to their place in the forest, Avernus had been walking, but even taking this into consideration, the length of time it took to reach the city was impressively short.

Upon arriving at the gate, the guards attempted to deny them access to the city, much like when the two first arrived with Magnhild, coming from Riverwood, but a bit of mind-altering illusion magic from Avernus saw them through without incident, and now here they were, strolling down the streets and making their way back home.

There weren't that many people out on the streets after sunset, but the few that were would usually turn their heads to stare at the bizarre couple. Since Avernus was wearing the only unsullied cloak, Leto had nothing to cover her unusual body and clothes, and she was considerably more noticeable. But neither Leto nor Avernus were bothered by the stares they received, which weren't too numerous anyways, and they paid them no mind.

"Well, I don't know about you, Avernus, but I had a wonderful time today," Leto remarked quite cheerfully before flashing him a large, toothy grin, "We should do this more often."

A fit of laughter overtook Avernus upon hearing Leto's words. "While I certainly have no objections, I`m sure everyone else would become terribly suspicious," he remarked after his laughter settled down, "We still haven't told them about us."

"So then we tell them," declared Leto, as if it were the obvious course of action to take. "Well, unless of course you're ashamed of bedding the scary vampire Falmer lady," she joked, earning another bout of laughter from Avernus.

"Not in the least," Avernus laughed back. Even though Leto had asked this in jest, Avernus was still able to discern a thread of anxiety in her voice. He hoped the lightness and ease with which he answered were enough to dispel her fear.

"However," Avernus began, a note of depression in his voice, "I think it would be best if we kept the exact nature of our relationship a secret for now."

"You're worried about how your family will react?"

"Mostly just my father," answered Avernus, "You'll already be enough of a shock to him, just as you are. I'd prefer not to agitate him more than necessary."

"Well, to be honest, I don't see how we can hide it," began Leto, "We're a day late; we were supposed to be back late last night. What possible excuse can we come up with to explain this?"

Leto raised a very a good point. There really wasn't much he could come up with, nothing believable at any rate, and an excuse presupposed that Avernus would be willing to lie to his family about this, which he wasn't entirely sure if he was ready to do.

"Good point," Avernus replied after a moment, "The only excuse I can think of would be that you had a difficult time finding any animals to take blood from, and by the time you did, there wasn't enough time left to make it back before the sun came up, forcing us to stay the day. And that's not a very convincing excuse, is it?"

"Not really, no," confirmed Leto. An uncomfortable silence passed between them as they both tried to imagine the consequences of their illicit tryst. "So are we going to tell them, then?" Leto asked eventually.

"If they ask, I suppose we'll have to," Avernus answered glumly, "Though I seriously doubt that they won't."

"Best to just get it over with," remarked Leto.

"Hmm. Perhaps."

By the time Avernus and Leto arrived, it was fairly late in the evening. The sky was black, the stars were out, and the torches and braziers that lined the streets were lit, radiating a comforting warmth and orange glow over the cobbles. They ascended the steps of the porch, crossed over to the door, and gently undid the latch, so as not to disturb anyone still awake.

Upon opening the door, they were greeted by the sight of a crackling fire in the hearth and Avernus's mother sitting in a chair directly in front of it, wrapped in a blanket and holding her hands close to the flames for warmth. Upon hearing the door open, followed by the muffled tapping of Avernus's cane as it struck a part of the floor covered by rugs, she turned her head in their direction, a look of mild surprise evident in her features. She then rose and cast off the blanket as she strode forward to greet them.

Oddly enough, however, the look on her face changed from one of mild surprise to one of anger, and when she was within arm's reach of Avernus, she slapped him in the face. The crack of her palm on his cheek was enough to shatter the silence that permeated the room, and Avernus likely would have toppled over, had Leto not been supporting him. Leto, who had seen the blow coming, was shocked. She could have easily blocked it from coming, but she wasn't sure she, an outsider, had any right to interfere in a matter between mother and son.

"Where in Oblivion have you been?" she hissed in whispered Cyrodiilic, so as not to wake the rest of the house. Leto could mostly understand her words, thanks to Avernus's instruction. "You were supposed to be back last night, or before dawn at the very latest. You're a full day late! Do you have any idea how much worry you put your grandparents and I through?"

"You know I can protect myself, mother," Avernus hissed back, "Things didn't go quite as smoothly as we had expected, but your reaction seems unjustified."

"Does it?" Sylva retorted, "Your tattered shirt suggests otherwise. Do you know your father arrived not even an hour after you left? He's been lying on the table in the back room ever since, recovering from some of the worst wounds he's received in years, and he was with a full company of guardsmen! You went off with just one other person!"

While Sylva had been shouting at her son, Leto had disengaged herself from Avernus and sat down in the chair next to the doorway. Most of what Sylva said, Leto couldn't understand. She was speaking too quickly, and Leto's Cyrodiilic wasn't that good yet, but it was quite clear that she was upset with Avernus. Leto had no idea why. When Sylva's rant finished, Avernus looked like he was about to say something, but Sylva cut him off and began speaking again, this time in a somewhat calmer manner.

"Now, you're going to sit down, and tell me exactly what happened with you and Leto," she said as she moved to support him in a similar manner as Leto and forcefully guided him to one of the upholstered benches by the hearth, before taking a seat herself on the opposite bench, facing her son. Leto got up as well, after a moment, rising from her chair by the door and moving to sit next to Avernus.

Avernus was dreading the conversation that would take place. He wanted to be discrete about the relationship between Leto and him, and reveal it when his family was ready, but he didn't see how he could keep the truth from getting out now, without resorting to lying.

"Well? Start talking," prompted Sylva, "What happened after you two left the city? Where did you go?"

"We went south, into the forest in the foothills, where there wasn't supposed to be anyone around that Leto might accidentally hurt," Avernus answered.

"Except there were people there, wasn't there?" Sylva inquired.

"Yes. Leto ran into a few Stormcloak soldiers, and-" Avernus replied, but was cut off by his mother.

"Leto ran into Stormcloaks? Where were you?"

"Not with her," answered Avernus, "On even ground, I can't even walk without a stick, and in the forest I'm nearly immobile without someone else's support. I would only slow Leto down, so I waited at a distinctive landmark while Leto went off to find a source of blood to feed on."

"You stayed all alone, in the middle of a forest full of criminals and dangerous creatures?" Sylva shrieked in dismay, "Have you no sense of self-preservation?"

"Of course I do," Avernus snapped back, "We picked a relatively defensible location for me to wait in, and I erected several magical wards and barriers to ensure that my presence went unnoticed. I wasn't encountered by any people, criminals or otherwise, and the few animals that stumbled across me were fooled by my magic. I'm not helpless, mother."

"I suppose not," Sylva conceded, "But then, why is your shirt all torn up? I somehow doubt you would have done that to yourself. Were you attacked?"

"Well, not exactly. Leto became quite aggressive once I restored her mind to its natural state and nearly," Avernus stressed, "attacked me, but was ultimately able to prevent her thirst from harming me." Avernus knew it wasn't the complete truth, but he preferred not to tell his mother that Leto had ripped his shirt off in a fit of frenzied lust that he had willingly participated in. He knew he'd have to tell her sooner or later before this conversation ended, but he intended on delaying it for as long as possible.

"And if she wasn't able to control herself?" Sylva inquired, not pleased at all at hearing that her son's companion was that close to harming him.

"Then I would have restrained her telekinetically, which she wouldn't have been able to resist," answered Avernus, "Really, how can you fight being remotely suspended in the air out of arm's reach?"

"I suppose that would have worked," Sylva conceded after a moment's thought. "Returning to Leto, you said she encountered Stormcloaks?"

"Yes."

"What happened?"

"They attacked her, so she killed them and then fed on them."

Sylva's eyes widened at that, a shocked look appearing on her face, but it lasted only a moment. "I suppose that was to be expected from the Stormcloaks," she said, "But she didn't purposely engage them, did she?"

"No, they attacked her first, and she simply responded," answered Avernus.

"What worries me more is the fact that the Stormcloaks have advanced this far into Whiterun Hold," Sylva remarked, "We know they plan on attacking the city, but I didn't think it would be so soon!"

"Neither did I," Avernus agreed, "But I suppose it isn't really surprising. Tomorrow is already the 25th of Last Seed and winter is quickly approaching. We'll probably be getting snow in little over a month, and I doubt the Stormcloaks will want to lay siege to a city when it's freezing cold out. Best to try and capture the city before winter settles in."

"That's true," acknowledged Sylva, "But returning to the subject of your little expedition last night, if you waited safely for Leto to find a source of blood, and Leto dispatched the soldiers with no injury to herself, it looks like, relatively early, why did you not return home last night?"

Upon asking her question, Sylva's voice reacquired the stern, almost accusatory tone that was lost when the discussion turned towards the threat of the Stormcloaks. Avernus knew he was in trouble now. There was no way to avoid mentioning what had transpired between himself and Leto the previous night, and even if he was willing to lie about it, no plausible alternative excuse came to mind.

"Well…" Avernus began uncertainly, "I don't think Leto's thirst was sated immediately after feeding – after all, our hunger doesn't go away immediately after we finish gorging ourselves at a feast, for instance – and I think, uh, some of her vampiric instincts that her thirst encouraged remained heightened. So, when she came back to the clearing I was waiting in, um…"

Sylva was immediately suspicious the moment Avernus started talking. He had answered her previous questions confidently, but now he was stumbling over his words. That his hand sought Leto's and grasped it for support seemed to Sylva like an incriminating gesture. What had they done, she wondered, that caused her son such discomfort to mention, when news of his companion killing Stormcloaks didn't even seem to faze him? Did she even want to know? She was dreading the answer.

"We, uh…copulated," Avernus finished lamely, whilst averting his eyes.

Sylva's mouth fell open in complete shock. He did what?

"Then we fell asleep and woke at dawn, so we had to stay put," Avernus hastily added.

An oppressive awkwardness permeated the quiet room, and the silence that ensued was nearly thick enough to be cut with a knife. Sylva didn't even know what to think about that. Did she even hear that right? No, she did. Her crippled, emaciated son had gone out in the night and fucked a vampire in the middle of a forest, right after almost being attacked and fed on! The first thing that came to mind was that she should slap him for being such an idiot and a scoundrel!

"You selfish idiot!" hissed Sylva. Had she been sitting next to her son, she would have slapped him again. "You delayed your already-dangerous excursion and frightened your grandparents and me to death just so you could have sex? You ass! And with a vampire no less! What's wrong with you? You said she nearly attacked you, and you get in bed with her? Have you lost your mind? You're normally so sensible, but this is incredibly stupid!"

"Are you quite done?" Avernus snapped back.

"No, I'm not," his mother continued, "What if this affects your judgement? I have nothing against Leto personally, but she's a vampire! She's dangerous by nature, whether she intentionally means to be or not. And it's not just your safety that's at risk, it's all of ours! Think of your old grandparents, or the twins! If something goes wrong and they get hurt because your entirely inappropriate emotional involvement with Leto prevents you from seeing danger, will you be able to live with yourself?"

"You're being ridiculous," rebuked Avernus, "My feelings for Leto will not impair my judgement. I've had these feelings for Leto for some time, and have I not been handling her vampirism well? Give me some credit!"

"We've only known about this since yesterday," argued Sylva, "There's still plenty of time for you to screw up!"

"And I repeat: I've felt this way about Leto for some time now and it hasn't prevented me from handling the outbreak of her vampirism, which was entirely unexpected, in a safe manner," Avernus insisted.

"I suppose," Sylva grudgingly conceded, "But I'll be informing your grandparents of this. They have a right to know about this since your…indulgence…affects us all."

"Fair enough, I suppose," Avernus sighed, "But you can't tell Father about this. At least not yet. He'll have a hard enough time dealing the fact that Leto's a Falmer. He should have time to adjust to that first, before we throw any more surprises his way."

"On that we agree," remarked Sylva, "It wasn't the bandit raid where he nearly got killed; that went exactly according to plan, apparently. But on their return he and his company were ambushed by vampires. They were the ones who wounded him so terribly. If we tell him that there's one living in this house – to say nothing of the fact that you're sleeping with her – there's no telling what he'll do."

"Ambushed by vampires?" Avernus echoed, "And they didn't manage to kill everyone in Father's company?"

"No," Sylva answered, "After the vampires ambushed your father, they were in turn ambushed by a group of vampire hunters, calling themselves the Dawnguard, that had been following them. Most of the guards survived, thanks to their intervention, and the survivors patched your father up the best they could before carrying him back here."

"Lucky for them," remarked Avernus.

"And us," said Sylva quietly, "Without their aid, your father probably would not have come back at all."

Avernus hummed in acknowledgement.

"Now go to bed," Sylva commanded, as if he were still a small child, "I have to stay up to tend to your father, and I don't want to have to deal with you" Apparently, Avernus wasn't forgiven just yet.

"Alright, goodnight, mother," Avernus replied with a hint of annoyance. He made to rise from the bench, but Leto was faster and helped him up.

As the two reached the stairs, the warm, orange light from the fire no longer illuminated their way, leaving the stairs and the landing shrouded in darkness. Leto, of course, had no difficulties whatsoever in being able to see; indeed, she could even clearly make out the individual grains of the wooden boards that made up the steps. It was a different matter for Avernus entirely, however, as he stared wide-eyed and unseeing.

At that moment, Leto was reminded of how…vulnerable Avernus could be at times. He was smaller than her, physically weaker, slower, and had significantly less acute senses, to say nothing of his lameness. By nearly every measure, he was physically inferior to her. Not that Leto felt that this made her better than Avernus as a person. Not at all, but seeing him in such a vulnerable state seemed to trigger primitive nurturing instincts in her, and she felt a powerful need to help him in some way. She knew he could easily produce a magical orb of light, like he had done to test her eyes back underground, and that her help was therefore unnecessary, but she didn't care.

As Avernus shot his left arm out, his palm facing upwards as if to conjure the light in it, Leto grasped it instead, intertwining her fingers with his. "Will you let me help you?" she whispered to him.

"Alright," Avernus replied, recognizing her desire to help him as a need in and of itself. The next thing he knew, Leto was cradling him in her arms as she ascended the stairs, holding him tightly and placing chaste kisses upon his lips.

It was a bit strange at first. Avernus had expected Leto to simply support him, like she usually did when she went out with him, as she guided him up the stairs through the dark. He hadn't expected her to actually pick him up and carry him in her arms, but he didn't mind at all that she did. The more Leto handled him like this, the less Avernus felt indignant about it, he found. Now, as Leto ascended the last stair and began making her way down the pitch black hallway, Avernus wrapped his arms around her neck and shoulders, eager to respond to her intimacy with his own. This seemed to please her, as she held him tighter and kissed him again.

Before long, Avernus felt her one forearm twist beneath him, as she rotated her hand to be able to push the door to his room open while still carrying him. He was then set gently down on his bed before hearing the latch to the door click shut. He then felt the bed shift as Leto joined him, followed by her hands upon his torso as she removed the shirt she had ruined the previous night, and tossed it on the floor. Following this, Leto lifted the blanket up and slid it over Avernus and herself as she pressed her body up against his. She must have removed her top sometime after entering the room, Avernus realized, when he felt her bare breasts press against his chest, before she captured his mouth with hers once more. She kissed him much more passionately this time, and her tongue was soon dancing with his in no time.

Avernus was somewhat confused. What had brought on this sudden outburst of passion from Leto, he wondered? Not that he was complaining, mind you. But as the passion continued between them, he was reminded of his mother's strong objection to his involvement with Leto, and the accusations she threw at him, and instantly his primal desire was killed.

"I'm sorry about my mother," said Avernus after he withdrew from their kiss, "I didn't think she would be this…disapproving."

Avernus then felt her hands cup his face, and her forehead came to rest against his. "It's okay," she replied, "I love you, Avernus, and I don't need her permission to love you."

Avernus chuckled at how wilful and stubborn her answer was, and heard her chuckle back a little.

"Your family's been really generous to allow me to stay with you, and I really appreciate their kindness, but if they think they can dictate what the relationship between us will be, then they can kiss my ass, because they have no right," Leto cheerfully declared, prompting another bout of chuckles from Avernus. He loved how defiant she was!

"Good," Avernus replied, "I'm glad you're not intimidated by them. I'm not so sure I would be so defiant were I in your position."

"But are you willing to stand up to your family for me?"

"Yes," Avernus answered without hesitation, "I love them dearly, but you're right; they have no business interfering with what's between us."

"Then that's all that matters," Leto cheerfully replied before she kissed him again. "Now let's not think of such unhappy things."

Avernus hummed in agreement, before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close once more. The events of the day quickly caught up with him and soon he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>So I realize I've had this story going for just over a year now. Wow. Not to stroke my ego or anything, but damn, I'm impressed with myself XD But the other, more important realization that comes to me is that I've been progressing very slowly with the story, which makes me even more grateful to everyone who's had the patience to to keep following this story. Upon realizing how long it's been since I started, I've decided to try and speed events along more quickly, but I'll still try to make it flow well. Your opinions on this would be greatly appreciated. <strong>

**Anyways, thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Merry Christmas and/or Happy Holidays! ^_^**


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